Facts of Life
by gemjam
Summary: As fiveyearold Noah starts questioning the world around him, Boone and Jack adjust to changes in their own lives.
1. Chapter 1

Boone helped Noah into the car and then went round to his own side, getting in.

"Seat belt," he said, pulling his own across and watching as Noah did the same. He started the car up and set off. "You have a good day?"

Noah half nodded, half shrugged. "I drew a picture of a dog."

"A dog, huh?"

"Can I have a dog?" Noah asked.

Boone looked at him. "Noah, we've talked about this."

"You said when I was older," Noah pointed out. "I'm older."

"That was like two weeks ago," Boone argued. "You're still not old enough."

"Zara has a dog," Noah complained.

"Zara's older," Boone stated. "And I think that's Shannon's dog."

"When I'm six can I have a dog?" Noah asked.

Boone sighed. "We'll talk about it when you're six."

This seemed to make Noah happy as he sat back and looked out the window. "Miss Croft read us a story about a boy and his mommy and I said that I didn't have a mommy and Johnny Osbourne said that everybody has a mommy."

Boone cringed a little. "Johnny Osbourne's an idiot."

"But then Miss Croft said that everybody does have a mommy even if their mommy isn't around anymore." Noah looked at Boone who kept his eyes on the road, willing Noah not to ask. "Do I have a mommy?"

Oh God, Boone thought. It's not like he didn't see this day coming, he just kind of hoped he'd have a little more time before Noah started asking about things like that. He also hoped that Jack would be there when he did.

"You hungry?" Boone asked, hoping he could distract him. Noah just looked puzzled. "You wanna go to McDonalds?"

"You said we were having pasta," Noah said. "And you said McDonalds was bad for you."

Boone nodded. "Right, I did say both those things."

"Boone..."

"I have to stop for gas," Boone interrupted, pulling the car in to the gas station. It was a total lie, he had nearly half a tank left, but he wanted to buy himself some thinking time.

He got out of the car and went around to the pump, knowing he wasn't going to be able to fit a whole lot in. He filled it up and then went into the store, wondering exactly what he was going to say to Noah when he got back to the car. Strictly speaking Noah did have a mom but strictly speaking he didn't. He had a woman who carried him around for nine months and gave birth to him, which some people would say would make her his mother, but Boone thought there was more to it than that, especially in this situation. Noah was never going to meet Tayla or have anything to do with her so really she may as well not exist. But he was bound to have questions about her all the same and Boone wasn't sure how to answer them.

Boone sighed and moved to the front of the queue where he saw a display of cookies. He knew it was wrong of him to attempt to bribe his son but if he could just keep him quiet until Jack came home then his life would be a whole lot easier. He grabbed a cookie and paid.

He headed back out to the car. "I got you something," he told Noah, handing over to cookie. Noah smiled and took it off him. "What do you say?"

"Thank you," Noah chimed. Boone gave him a smile. "Can I have it now?"

"Sure thing," Boone replied, starting the car up again. He watched as Noah tucked into the cookie and pulled out of the gas station.

The cookie kept Noah quiet on the way home but then he sat at the kitchen table while Boone was trying to make dinner. Boone usually liked when Noah did that, he'd sit and draw pictures and tell Boone about his day, but today Boone could really do without it.

"What is a mommy?" Noah asked. "Is it a girl version of a daddy? I have two boy daddies."

"Yeah, you do," Boone agreed.

"How is a mommy different from a daddy?" Noah asked.

"Well, a mommy's a girl," Boone said.

"I said that," Noah complained. "Why do you need a mommy? I don't like girls. Aunt Shannon always smells funny."

Boone couldn't help but smile. "That's her perfume, Noah."

"It smells funny," Noah stated, scrunching up his nose. "And Zara's always flinging her hair about when we play, she hits me with it."

Boone smiled again. "I'm sure she doesn't mean to."

"Do you have a mommy?" Noah asked.

"You know I have a mommy, Grandma Carlyle is my mommy," Boone replied.

"She always holds onto my hand too tight," Noah complained. "And she says I break things when I don't, they just break."

Boone sighed and turned to face Noah. "How many times, Noah? Things don't just break on their own."

Noah nodded enthusiastically. "They do."

"They seem to when you're around," Boone muttered, turning back to what he was doing.

"Do you have a daddy?" Noah asked.

"My daddy's not around," Boone replied.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know."

"Did you lose him?"

Boone smiled. "He left, he didn't tell me where he went."

"Why did he leave?"

"I don't know, he didn't tell me."

Noah seemed to consider this for a while. "Do I have a mommy?"

Boone sighed. "Why don't you go watch some TV?"

"I don't wanna," Noah complained, pouting.

"Okay, well, just be quiet, I need to concentrate, okay?" Boone said, turning back to his cooking.

"Can I help?" Noah asked.

"Not today, Noah," Boone replied.

"Suzi Hammond in my class lost her tooth today," Noah said. "It was her front one, now she has a gap. She looks really silly."

"You'll lose your front teeth soon, Noah," Boone told him.

Noah pouted again. "I don't wanna. I like my teeth."

"But when you do you get new ones," Boone said. "Stronger ones, they're better."

"Does the tooth fairy give you extra for your front teeth?" Noah asked.

"Why would she give you extra?"

"Because she makes you look silly for taking them," Noah explained.

"I don't think she sees it like that, Noah," Boone replied.

"How does the tooth fairy get into your house?" Noah asked.

"She flies in," Boone told him.

"But how does she fit?"

"She's really, really small," Boone explained, which Noah seemed to accept.

"Does the tooth fairy have a mommy?" Noah asked.

"I don't know," Boone replied.

"Don't you know the tooth fairy?"

"No, I don't know her."

"But I thought all parents knew the tooth fairy," Noah said, looking a little puzzled. "And Santa Claus."

"No, no one's allowed to meet the tooth fairy or Santa Claus," Boone told him. "Not even grown ups."

"But I met Santa Claus at Christmas," Noah pointed out.

"Right," Boone said, thinking on his feet. "But that's different. You can meet Santa Claus just before Christmas when he comes to visit but you can't see him on Christmas eve because if you do then he won't leave you any presents."

"But how do you tell Santa what I want?"

"Santa knows what you want," Boone said. "He listens to you all year round."

"Don't you get to meet Santa?" Noah asked. "Jack said Santa took care of the presents."

"He does, yes," Boone agreed, unsure where he was going with this. "But we don't get to see him."

"Why not?" Noah asked.

"Because you're not allowed to see Santa, no one's allowed to see Santa."

"But I saw Santa."

Boone sighed and wondered how the hell he managed to get into this conversation. He guessed he should count himself lucky that Noah wasn't asking him about mommies anymore but he was also getting slightly stressed out. He really wasn't in the mood for one of Noah's question sessions. He knew that the kid had a lot to learn about the world but he wished he'd ask about something he had a clue about.

"Does Santa Claus have a mommy?" Noah asked.

Boone turned around to face him, trying not to look annoyed. "Why don't we talk about mommies when Jack comes home, huh?"

"Okay," Noah said, looking a little disinterested and turning his attention back to his crayons.

Boone expected more of a fight than that if he was honest but he knew he should be happy. He should have tried the Jack card ages ago, it usually worked, Noah doted on Jack, mainly because he wasn't around as much as Boone was. Noah might be closer to Boone than he was to Jack but Jack had unintentionally made himself a special commodity so the promise of Jack was sometimes enough to keep him quiet. Boone knew that it's effectiveness was limited though and Noah would undoubtedly get bored and start questioning him again if Jack didn't return soon. Boone just hoped Jack was going to be on time so he could help answer some of Noah's questions. 


	2. Chapter 2

Jack found himself back at the nurse's station again and sighed heavily. 

"You still here, Jack?" asked Alice, a nurse with a mother hen complex that Jack thought was sweet but slightly overbearing at times.

"Looks that way," he replied. "Have you seen my goddamn chief resident?"

"Watch the mouth, honey," Alice smiled. "You tried his office?"

"Just come from there," Jack replied.

"You looking for Jeremy?" Dr. Bailey asked, walking around to use the phone.

"Yeah, you seen him?" Jack asked.

"Round there," Dr. Bailey replied, motioning around the corner. "Just about to start rounds with the med students."

"Great," Jack sighed, gathering up his charts again.

"Go easy on the kid, Jack," Alice requested.

"I go easy on him he's never gonna get anything done," Jack replied, walking away. "And I wanna go home at some point tonight."

Jack walked around to find Jeremy standing in front of a small group of medical students, chart in hand, looking completely out of his depth. Which Jack knew wasn't really true, he'd been one of the people that appointed him in the position in the first place after all. He still had a lot to learn though, and he could definitely do with a little more self-confidence. But right now Jack just had to make this quick and painless and get out of there before he got dragged into doing rounds with him.

"Jeremy," Jack called, getting his attention. "I need you to take these patients, I'm going home."

"What? No. Give them to Bailey," Jeremy requested.

"I wasn't asking, Jeremy," Jack told him, thrusting the charts in his direction. "Three patients, all of whom you saw earlier, you'll be fine."

"But I gotta look after the students," Jeremy complained.

"And I left a mountain of paperwork on your desk," Jack told him. "I don't want it to be there in the morning."

"Now when you say mountain..."

"Get it done," Jack instructed.

Jeremy nodded a little but looked rather unconvinced. "So, hey, you wanna meet the students?"

Jack sighed and was about to attempt to excuse himself, the last thing he wanted to do was talk to a bunch of kids. Okay, so he was a medical student once too but he was a hell of a lot more mature about it and he didn't nag his superiors nearly as much.

"Guys, this is Dr. Jack Shepherd," Jeremy announced.

"Oh my God," one of the students said. "You're Dr. Jack Shepherd."

"That's what I just said," Jeremy stated.

"No, I mean, you're Dr. Jack Shepherd from Oceanic flight 815," she said, an amazed look on her face.

Jack tried not to roll his eyes. "Actually, I'm just plain Dr. Jack Shepherd now."

"Actually he's Dr. Jack Shepherd, chief of surgery," Jeremy corrected.

"Yeah, I'm that too," Jack agreed. "But right now I'm Dr. Jack Shepherd, going home. Make me proud, Jeremy."

"Uh-huh," Jeremy mumbled, biting his lip.

"Don't let me down, okay? I'm checking up on you in the morning," Jack called back, heading for the doctor's lounge.

When he finally made it home he found Boone in the living room, playing with the remote control.

"I'm late, I know," he stated as he came into the room.

Boone didn't look up. "You're late."

"I know," Jack repeated, watching him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm..." He threw the control onto the sofa cushion next to him. "...fine." Jack gave him a questioning look. "It's broken."

Jack went over and picked up the control, sitting down next to Boone. He took the back off the controller and pushed the batteries firmly in before replacing it and trying it out. "See. Did you drop it?"

"Noah probably dropped it," Boone complained.

"Yeah, blame it on the kid," Jack smiled.

"Well he breaks everything he touches," Boone stated.

"He gets that from you," Jack told him. Boone gave him a look. "He in bed?" Boone nodded. "Sorry."

"He asked me if he had a mommy," Boone told him.

Jack looked at him. "Crap." Boone nodded. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him I had to stop for gas then I bought him a cookie," Boone explained.

Jack gave him a look. "That's great, Boone, fantastic parenting skills."

"Well what would you have done?" Boone asked him.

"I don't know," Jack admitted.

"Well you should think about it cos you have to tell him tomorrow," Boone said.

"Why do I have to tell him?" Jack asked.

"You're a doctor," Boone said.

"What the hell's that got to do with anything?"

"You know about the human body and stuff."

"I think you know where babies come from, Boone," Jack told him.

"Yeah but you're a doctor so you should do it," Boone repeated. "Besides, you're outvoted."

"Outvoted by who?" Jack asked.

"Me."

"You and who?"

"Just me," Boone replied. Jack looked at him. "I get two votes cos I'm special," Boone explained.

Jack sighed. Boone moved closer to him and gave him his best puppy dog eyes, which Jack should really have some immunity to by now. Jack attempted a defiant look in return but instead Boone leaned in and kissed him. Boone pulled away and looked at him.

"Please?"

"You've been spending far too much time with Shannon, I'm putting a stop to this," Jack told him.

Boone smiled. "That a yes?"

"I don't see why I have to explain it to him, it's not like it's all medical," Jack complained.

"But you're so much better at it than I am," Boone told him.

"You've definitely been spending too much time with Shannon," Jack observed.

"But you'll talk to him right?" Boone asked. "You gonna be around tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, I will be," Jack said. "So _we_ can talk to him at breakfast."

"Right, we, that's totally what I meant," Boone nodded.

"Of course you did," Jack said, giving him a look.

Boone smiled and leaned in again, kissing him. Which really wasn't a bad thing to come home to but Jack was too tired to take advantage of it right now. After a few moments he pulled away.

"Did we have sex last night?" he asked.

Boone gave him an unimpressed look. "Yeah, we did, I'm glad it meant so much to you, you really know how to make me feel loved."

Jack sighed. "I didn't mean it like that."

"So how did you mean it?"

"I'm just too tired right now," Jack explained. "But I wanted to make sure I'm not neglecting you."

Boone smiled at him. "You're not neglecting me," he told him. "But I'm allowed to stay up past 8 o'clock so I actually get to see you when you come home late."

"I know," Jack said. "I've been behind all day. If they'd just cut out all the paperwork and let me concentrate on the patients I'd be fine."

"You took the promotion, Jack," Boone pointed out. "You didn't have to take it."

"You don't say no to that, Boone," Jack replied.

"Sometimes you really should," Boone told him. "Remember when I thought like that. I wound up CEO of my mother's company."

"But you hated that," Jack said. "I like the job. I'm happy to have the job."

"Cos now you're level with your father and you don't have to compete with him anymore?"

Jack looked at him. "My father's dead, I don't have to compete with him anymore anyway."

"_I_ know that."

"Boone, if you didn't want me to take the job..."

"I never said that," Boone argued. "I'm dating the chief of surgery at St. Sebastian hospital. I'm the coolest guy ever."

Jack smiled at him. "Well, coolest guy ever, is there any food? I'm starving."

"Yeah, come on, get up," Boone said, getting to his feet.

"You could just bring me it," Jack suggested.

Boone shook his head. "Come on."

"Fine," Jack said, following Boone out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Boone sat at the kitchen table, Jack at one side of him, Noah at the other. He watched Noah eating his cereal and then turned pointedly to Jack who gave him an irritated look in return. He had a feeling Jack didn't really want to explain this to Noah anymore than he did, in fact he was sure he didn't. But he also knew Jack was going to buckle so he just kept looking at him.

Noah hadn't actually brought up mommies again since the afternoon before so Jack had suggested that they wait until he asked again and then explained it but Boone knew that Noah was guaranteed to ask Boone when he was on his own and they were going to start right back at the beginning again. Besides it was best to be proactive and get it over with while they were all together and sat down. Jack had agreed, though rather begrudgingly Boone thought.

As Boone continued to stare meaningfully at him, Jack finally rolled his eyes and turned to Noah.

"So, Noah, did you have something you were asking Boone about yesterday?" Jack asked.

"Can I have a dog?" Noah asked, looking up.

Boone looked at him. "Not that question."

"Can I?" Noah repeated.

"No," Boone replied. "And we're not talking about that again."

"You still on the dog thing?" Jack asked. "I thought we moved on from that."

Boone shook his head.

"I want a dog," Noah said.

"You remember what else we were talking about?" Boone asked him.

Noah looked thoughtful. "The tooth fairy?"

"No," Boone said. "Well, yeah, but, what else?"

Noah thought hard again, biting absently on his bottom lip.

Jack leaned into Boone. "You know, if he doesn't remember, maybe we should just leave it," he suggested.

"We're not leaving it," Boone said. "He'll remember the second you go out the door, I guarantee it. We're doing this together, remember?"

"Fine," Jack said, turning back to Noah. "You got anything over there, champ?"

Noah looked up at him again. "I have two daddies but people at my school have a mommy and a daddy. Do I have a mommy too? Do I have two mommies?"

"Okay, I'm gonna try and explain this to you, all right?" Jack began. Noah nodded. "Okay. So, when a boy gets older, sometimes he decides that he like blonde girls and sometimes he decides that he like brunettes. But sometimes the boy decides that he likes other boys. Do you understand that?"

Noah nodded. "I don't like girls."

Boone and Jack exchanged a smile.

"Well, you might do when you're older," Jack told him. "But different types of people like different types of people, okay? Now the boy that grows up and likes the blonde girl, when they get married they can have a baby and the woman carries the baby inside her for nine months and that's what makes her a mommy."

"How does she carry it?" Noah asked. "Richie Lawson's mommy's having a baby and he says that it's in her tummy."

Jack seemed to consider whether to go into the technical details or not. "Well, yeah, that's pretty much the idea," he agreed, looking a little unsure of himself.

"How does the baby get inside her tummy?" Noah asked.

Jack looked to Boone for help but Boone just found himself shrugging and looking helpless back.

"Well, girls and boys have different body parts," Jack said, his brow furrowed. He looked to Noah. "Do you know what I'm talking about when I say that?" Noah nodded. "Okay, so, boy parts and girls parts, they, erm..." Jack started making awkward movements with his hands, trying to express something that not even Boone was sure about at this stage. He sighed and sat back in his chair, looking at Boone. "I can't say this to a five-year-old."

"You can, you're doing great," Boone told him.

Jack gave him an unimpressed look. "Anytime you wanna step in is fine by me."

"No, I'm good."

"No really, you take a shot at it," Jack insisted.

Boone turned to Noah who was looking at the two of them, a slightly confused look on his face. "Okay, here's the thing," Boone began. "Girl parts and boy parts interlock and when they do you get a baby."

"How?" Noah asked.

Boone patted Jack on the arm. "Tag, you're it."

Jack gave him a weary look. "You can't tag me."

"Just did," Boone responded.

"Can I play?" Noah asked.

Jack turned back to Noah. "Okay, babies, let's see," he mused. "Gardening," he said suddenly. "You helped Boone plant the borders in the yard, right?"

"Yeah," Noah agreed.

"Now, you planted little seeds in the soil, didn't you?" Jack asked. Noah nodded. "Then what happened?"

"Flowers grew," Noah replied.

"Right," Jack said. "A woman has a little seed inside her and when she's in love with a man and they interlock body parts then the seed starts to grow but instead of getting a flower, you get a baby. You understand all that?"

"A mommy is someone who has a seed that grows into a baby," Noah ventured.

"Right," Jack agreed. "That's how you get babies."

"So do I have a mommy that I came from?" Noah asked.

"Well, what I told you there, that's what happens when the boy grows up and he likes girls. But sometimes boys grow up and they like other boys, like Boone and me, okay?" Noah nodded again. "So when you have two men that love each other, they can't make a baby on their own because the seed is in the woman. So, when that happens, they need a nice kind woman that will let them borrow her seed and who'll grow it for them and then they can get a baby. Do you understand that?" Noah nodded. "Are you sure?" Jack asked him. Noah nodded again. "Do you have any more questions?"

"Is my mommy borrowed?" Noah asked.

"Okay, see, it's a little more complicated for you," Jack told him. "A mommy is a person who has a baby grow inside of her and gives birth to them, and you do have a woman that did that. But she did it so that me and Boone could have you because we couldn't have you without her help."

"Where is she?" Noah asked.

"Well, she has her own family and she's with them," Jack explained.

"But why isn't she with me if she's my mommy?" Noah asked.

Jack looked as if he was about to say something and then stopped and tapped Boone on the arm instead. "Tag."

Boone gave him a look. He turned to Noah. "Okay, different families work in different ways but the best kind of family is one where everyone loves each other, right?"

"Yeah," Noah agreed.

"Well, Jack and I love each other and we both love you," Boone told him. "So we don't need anyone else, right? She has her family and we have our family and she just helped us out with that."

"Okay," Noah said, seeming to accept this.

"You have any more questions?" Jack asked him.

"No," Noah said, shaking his head.

"You sure? Nothing else you wanna ask? You can ask us about anything, you know that, right?" Jack continued. Noah nodded. "Okay, why don't you go brush your teeth?"

"Okay," Noah said, leaving the table.

"That went okay," Boone said once Noah was out of the room.

Jack put his head in his hands. "We suck."

Boone looked at him. "We do?"

"I suck," Jack corrected.

"What are you talking about?"

Jack looked at him. "I did not use one bit of proper terminology there."

"I think he got the gist," Boone said.

"That's not the point, Boone," Jack stated. "By not using the proper terminology I'm talking around the subject, I'm making it sound like it's something that shouldn't be talked about. He's gonna think it's all dirty, dirty wrong."

Boone smiled at him. "Only when you do it right," he said, putting his hand on Jack's thigh.

Jack batted him away. "Knock it off," he said. "I'm being serious. I'm a doctor, I could use the real words."

"Well, yeah, that is why I asked you to do it," Boone pointed out. Jack gave him a seriously unamused look. "But I think you did great all the same."

Jack sighed. "You don't think we're irrevocably screwing him up, do you?"

Boone shook his head. "I don't think that."

Jack nodded. "Good. You're probably right."

"He's okay, Jack," Boone told him. "He's a good kid. He's slightly scatterbrained on occasion but that doesn't mean he's not smart. And, true, he wrecks stuff constantly."

"Aren't you supposed to be talking him up?" Jack pointed out.

Boone gave him a conceding look. Then he turned to Jack and smiled. "Don't you just love him more than anything else in the world though?"

Jack smiled back at him. "Yeah, I really do."

Boone nodded. "Then he's gonna be fine."

"I love you too," Jack told him.

"Yeah, I am kind of adorable," Boone agreed.

Jack gave him a playful shove. "Shut up."

Boone smiled at him. "I love you too, you know I do."

Jack nodded and leaned in for a kiss. He pulled away and looked at the clock. "And now I gotta go."

"Okay," Boone said.

Boone followed Jack as he went out to the hall. "Noah, I'm leaving," he yelled up the stairs. There was some kind of muffled reply that indicated Noah was still brushing his teeth. "Hey, finish up first, I'll wait," Jack called.

"I'm finished," Noah called back, clearer this time.

He came running down the stairs and straight over to Jack who leaned down and pulled him into a hug.

"You be good," he told Noah.

"I am good," Noah replied.

"I know you are," Jack said, kissing him on the head. "I'll see you tonight."

"Will you read me a story?" Noah asked.

"If I'm back in time I will," Jack replied.

"Will you be back in time?" Noah asked.

"I will try my best," Jack told him. He gave him another kiss and then pulled away. He grabbed his stuff and then turned to Boone. "I'm making every effort to get back for supper," he said.

"Every effort?" Boone asked sarcastically. "That just fills me with confidence."

"Look, I swear, I'm gonna get away as soon as I can," Jack told him.

Boone smiled. "Just go be a doctor."

Jack nodded. "Right." He leaned in and gave Boone another kiss. "Bye, guys."

Once they'd successfully got Jack out the door, Boone turned his attention to Noah. "Did you really finish brushing your teeth?"

"Yeah," Noah nodded.

"Okay, let me see," Boone instructed. He lent down to Noah as he bared his teeth for him. "Blinding white, good boy. You got your school bag?"

"Oh, I left it upstairs."

"You wanna go get it?"

"Okay," Noah replied as he turned around and bounded back up the stairs with an energy that made Boone tired just watching him. They really weren't doing a bad job with him, Boone thought. He found that none his worries about parenting that he suffered from early on had really amounted to anything. He and Noah bonded instantly and everything just kind of came naturally. Not that Noah couldn't be a huge pain in the ass when he wanted to be, along with the times that he managed to do it quite unwittingly. But Boone found that, at the end of the day, the pros far outweighed the cons. He never regretted any of it.

Noah came bounding back down the stairs towards Boone.

"Okay, kid, you ready to go?" 


	4. Chapter 4

Jack finished the second bedtime story and arranged Noah's covers, getting ready to leave. "Okay, are you warm enough?"

"Can I have a cookie?" Noah asked.

"No, you just brushed your teeth, you can't have a cookie," Jack told him.

"I'm hungry," Noah complained.

"You just had your supper, you can't hungry," Jack replied.

"I'm hungry," Noah repeated. He saw that this was getting no response and tried a different tact. "Can I have some juice?"

"No, you just brushed your teeth," Jack reminded.

"Can I have some water?" Noah asked.

"Noah, come on, it's time to go to sleep now," Jack told him.

"Tomorrow Miss Croft said she's going to teach us some songs," Noah said.

"Yeah?" Jack asked. "Well don't you want to be well rested for that?"

"She said there's one about a fish," Noah said. "Can I have a fish?"

"You want a fish now?" Jack asked him.

"A goldfish," Noah said.

"You want a goldfish?"

"I'd call it Fred."

"Fred?"

"Can I have a goldfish?"

"We'll talk about it later with Boone," Jack told him.

"I want a goldfish," Noah said again.

"Okay, we'll talk about it tomorrow, we'll see, okay?" Jack attempted.

"Can I listen to some music now?" Noah asked.

"Noah, I've told you, it's time for bed," Jack stated. "It's late, you have to go to sleep."

"I'm not tired," Noah complained.

"Why don't you just try closing your eyes and seeing if you can fall asleep?" Jack suggested.

"I won't," Noah insisted. "I'm not tired."

"I'm going to go now, okay? You try and go to sleep," Jack said.

"Can I go see Zara and Snoop tomorrow?" Noah asked.

"You'll have to ask Boone in the morning, I'm sure he'll take you so long as Aunt Shannon isn't busy," Jack told her.

"Can I have a dog like Snoop?" Noah asked.

"We've told you, you have to wait until you're older," Jack replied.

"But I want a dog," Noah moaned.

"When you're older you might be able to have one."

"What kind of dog is Snoop?" Noah asked.

"Snoop is a golden Labrador," Jack replied.

"What other types of dogs are there?" Noah asked.

Jack was starting to get the impression that Noah was far smarter than he was. He was also wondering how the hell he was ever going to leave this room.

"There are lots of different types of dogs, Noah," Jack told him. "Now I'm going to go and you're going to go to sleep." Jack stood up.

"Why aren't there different types of people like there's different types of dogs?" Noah asked.

"There are different types of people, Noah. People from different countries look different to each other," Jack told him.

"Like Uncle Sayid," Noah said.

"Right," Jack replied.

"Uncle Sayid talks funny," Noah observed.

"He has an accent, Noah," Jack told him.

"Why don't I have an accent?" Noah asked.

"You do have an accent, you just don't notice it," Jack replied. "If you went to Iraq then the people there would think you spoke funny."

"Is that where Uncle Sayid is from?" Noah asked.

"Yes, it is," Jack replied. "Now, I'm going to go, you sleep well." He leant down and gave Noah a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight."

"I'm not tired," Noah complained.

"Just try for me, okay?" Jack requested.

"I won't fall asleep," Noah insisted.

"Just rest for a while then," Jack instructed. "I'll come check on you in a little bit."

Noah pouted a bit but seemed to settle down. Jack gave him a smile and left the room, leaving the door slightly open how Noah liked it. He headed downstairs and found Boone on the sofa. He went over and sat down next to him.

"Is he that difficult with you?" Jack asked.

"Was he being difficult?" Boone asked.

"Just asking me constant questions so I wouldn't leave," Jack replied.

Boone smiled. "That just means he likes you," he told him. "He wants to spend time with you."

"Yeah, I know," Jack replied. "He's good at stalling, I'll give him that."

"He's just inquisitive," Boone replied. "Which, don't get me wrong, can drive you crazy, right?" Jack nodded. Boone shrugged. "He's learning."

"I know," Jack agreed. "But I swear he's better behaved for you."

Boone shrugged. "We have a routine," he said. "You tend to come and go independently to our routine so I guess he thinks he can take liberties with you."

Jack nodded. "I guess," he conceded. "He's smart."

"He's five," Boone stated. "Five-year-olds are good manipulators. Especially when it comes to bedtime. He's asserting his independence."

"You've been reading books on it, haven't you?" Jack guessed.

Boone shrugged. "Internet articles."

Jack smiled. "God, you're amazing."

"Well, I have to do something while I'm at home all day, may as well be something useful," Boone replied.

"No, you're totally amazing," Jack told him.

Boone smiled. "Fine," he said, mock begrudgingly. "You want a coffee? I was gonna make one."

"Well, my plan was to put you to bed next but I have a feeling he's gonna be up again so we might want to wait a while," Jack replied. "So, yeah, coffee for now I guess." Boone smiled at him. "What?"

Boone shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, getting to his feet.

"Why are you smiling?" Jack asked, following him to the kitchen.

"Can't I smile?" Boone asked, putting the kettle on.

"You're laughing at me," Jack observed.

"I'm not laughing at you," Boone replied.

"That's it, you've blown it, I'm not having sex with you now," Jack told him.

Boone did laugh then. "Oh, you're not having sex with me now?"

"Nope," Jack replied.

Boone laughed again. "Shut up."

"Why is it funny?" Jack asked.

"Why are you being such a loser?" Boone countered.

"Why were you laughing at me in the first place?" Jack persisted.

"Because you just, you're so cute," Boone replied.

"You're laughing at me cos I'm cute?" Jack asked.

"I'm laughing at you cos you're so dorky," Boone explained. "And you can't do sex talk so don't try."

"What are you talking about now?" Jack asked. "And I'm not dorky, I'm the chief of surgery."

"Those two things can't go hand in hand?" Boone asked. "And it's just funny when you're suggestive."

"If you think having sex with me is funny then maybe we're doing it wrong," Jack suggested.

"I didn't say the sex was funny," Boone told him. "The sex is good. You talking about the sex is funny."

"I can talk about sex," Jack insisted.

"Yeah, I heard you this morning," Boone pointed out.

"I don't mean like that," Jack said. "You know, I'm starting to see where Noah gets it from."

Boone smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I'll be good." Jack rolled his eyes. "You know I wasn't even really laughing at you. You're the one that made a big deal out of it."

"You laughed."

"I smiled."

"You have a cute smile so I'm gonna let you off," Jack told him.

Boone smiled again and Jack couldn't help but smile back. Okay so Boone had him wrapped around his finger just as much as Noah did but he was okay with that, even though he was always on the losing end of a 2:1 ratio. Boone made the coffees and they sat down at the table.

"By the way," Boone said. "I wasn't just smiling cos you're funny, I was smiling cos the thought of having sex with you makes me smile."

Jack smiled at him. "Good to know."

"Yeah, it totally breaks up the day too," Boone added. "I don't have a whole lot else to think about."

Jack sipped his coffee and tried to hide another smile. The thought of Boone sitting at home and having sexual fantasies about him was actually quite a nice one. They finished their coffee and headed upstairs. Jack checked in on Noah, who was fast asleep, and then followed Boone into the bedroom. 


	5. Chapter 5

Boone saw Noah into the school and then headed back to his car, unlocking it.

"Hey, loser."

He turned to see Shannon standing a few cars away, smiling at him.

"Coffee?" he asked.

Shannon nodded. "I'll follow you."

They headed back to Boone's house and settled themselves in the living room with their drinks.

"I had a scare last week," Shannon said.

Boone looked at her. "Scare?"

"I thought I was pregnant," Shannon explained. "Got one of those home pregnancy kits, you know, the whole pee on the stick thing. It was negative though."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you about birth control, Shan?" Boone asked.

"Shut up," she replied, giving him a look. "That wasn't the part that scared me though. The scary part was that when I thought I was pregnant I was actually kind of... well, I thought it might actually be kind of nice. I was a little disappointed it was negative."

"I thought you hated kids," Boone pointed out.

Shannon nodded. "It's different when they're yours."

"Yeah, it is," Boone agreed. "I want another one," he added as casually as he could.

Shannon looked at him. "You want another kid?"

Boone shrugged.

"Are you and Jack looking into it again?" she pressed.

"I haven't spoken to Jack," Boone said. "I've just been thinking about it. It's just that, ever since Noah started school full-time this year I've been kind of..."

"Bored out of your brain?" Shannon provided.

"Yeah," Boone agreed.

"Tell me about it," Shannon commented. "So you want another kid to keep you company?"

"Is that selfish?" Boone asked. "I mean, is that the wrong reason to have a kid."

"Don't ask me," Shannon shrugged. "Maybe you should try talking to your husband about it."

"Yeah but the timing's all off for Jack," Boone explained. "He just got this new promotion and he's working really long hours and I'm sure the last thing he wants to come home to is a screaming baby that's gonna keep him up all night."

"Won't know until you ask him," Shannon persisted. "He loves kids."

"Yeah," Boone agreed distractedly. "So you gonna start trying?"

"I don't know," Shannon replied. "Pregnancy is so not fun. But I wouldn't be on an island for the bulk of it this time so that's gonna be a bonus."

"Yeah, imagine being able to use a toilet for your morning sickness," Boone commented.

"Yeah, that'd be a new and exciting experience," Shannon agreed. "But I don't know if I could do it all again. The nine months of feeling crappy cos someone's stealing all my nutrients, that childbirth part which, can I just say, is horrendous, and then there's all that energy with the feeding and changing and just trying to stop them crying. I don't think I'd mind if it happened but I don't think I'd try for it either."

Boone nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Maybe I should get a hobby."

"Maybe you should get a dog," Shannon suggested.

Boone gave her a look. "Don't you start."

"Snoop keeps me company while Zara's at school," Shannon explained. "They're cute and loyal and they don't talk back, unlike my six-year-old."

"She picking up your bad habits?" Boone smirked. The thought of that being Shannon's comeuppance for years of acting like a brat was actually kind of funny.

"She doesn't get it from me," Shannon dismissed. "And she's not that bad really. There are far worse kids."

"Yeah, you were one," Boone pointed out.

"Hey, I wasn't all that bad," Shannon argued. "When I was six I wasn't. When I was older, sure, but not when I was six. You didn't know me when I was six, I was a cutie, a total angel."

Boone laughed a little. "I find that kind of hard to believe."

"So maybe I wasn't as obedient as you but you were like a pod child," Shannon replied.

"'Children should be seen and not heard', that's what my mother taught me," Boone said.

"Your mother's a freak," Shannon countered.

"No arguments over here," Boone stated. "She's better than she used to be though, even if Noah is a little boisterous for her tastes."

"I'm surprised she lets destructo-boy into her house at all," Shannon said.

"Hey, don't call him that," Boone complained.

"Last time he had dinner at my house he broke a plate and a glass," Shannon stated.

"Oh, that reminds me, Noah wants to come play with Zara and Snoop after school, you busy?" Boone asked.

"No, bring him round," Shannon said. "In fact I can just pick him up if you want, you can stay here."

"Yeah, even more time to sit in my empty house, that's exactly what I need," Boone replied sarcastically, giving her a look.

"Will you talk to Jack about this?" Shannon asked. "I'm used to being bored, I know how to entertain myself being a lady of leisure, believe me. You, not so much. You don't understand the concept of free time, you never did."

"What am I supposed to say to him?" Boone asked. "'Hey, Jack, I'm bored', what's he gonna do about it?"

"You suck," Shannon said. "You're sucky."

"Thanks," Boone said sarcastically.

"Just talk to him, Boone, that's what he's there for," Shannon told him. "And a whole bunch of other fun stuff too but sometimes the talking is what you need."

Boone sighed. "I can work it out on my own."

"You're gonna work out how to have a kid on your own?" Shannon asked. "That's quite special."

Boone gave her a look. "I only said I was thinking about having another kid," he stated. "Maybe I'll get a job. Just a part-time thing. I could work in the mornings and then come home and do some housework then pick up Noah, make dinner, full day."

"Yeah, but didn't you get the house and the kid cos you couldn't decide what you wanted to do," Shannon pointed out.

"I wanted the house and the kid," Boone insisted.

"I'm not saying you didn't," Shannon replied. "But they did help you conveniently put off the career search."

Boone sighed. He didn't know why he bothered trying to argue with Shannon anymore.

"So what do you wanna do?" she asked him.

"I don't know," Boone admitted.

"Ooh, I know, talk to Jack about it," Shannon suggested once again. Boone gave her a look. "Just trying to help my big brother. God knows you spent enough time looking after me."

"Is that a thanks?" Boone asked.

"Don't push your luck," Shannon told him.

"See, having siblings is nice, isn't it?" Boone said. "I hated being an only child."

"Of course you did, you were stuck with no one but Sabrina for company," Shannon commented. "I didn't mind it so much."

"You didn't?" Boone asked.

Shannon shrugged. "It was me and my dad against the world, it was kind of nice." Boone nodded. "It was kind of nice to have a big brother too though," she added.

Boone smiled at her. "Well it was definitely nice to have a little sister."

"Yeah, I know, you perve," she quipped, giving him a smile in return.

"You think Noah would like being a big brother?" Boone asked. "Or do you think he'd feel jealous, he's used to being the centre of attention. And if I do have another kid is it like pushing him aside? Cos I know if he was still at home with me I wouldn't really even be thinking about this."

"I don't know, Boone," Shannon replied. "He seems to take after you so I reckon he wouldn't mind being a big brother. But everyone's different, right? He's not totally spoilt or anything so I guess he'd adjust."

Boone nodded. "Yeah."

"Anyway, I should probably get back, Snoop'll be wanting his walkies," Shannon stated, putting her cup down.

"You're gonna leave me for a dog?" Boone asked.

"I'm telling you, you should get one," Shannon said. Boone gave her a look. "Fine, your loss. Maybe you could get a cat or something."

"I don't know, I'm not big on pets," Boone said. "Noah's asking for a goldfish now."

"Oh, come on, you can't deny the kid a goldfish, Boone," Shannon stated, giving him an incredulous look.

"Goldfish die all the time," Boone said.

"Not if you feed them," Shannon pointed out.

"If I'm gonna get my son a pet I want it to have a longer life span than the average goldfish," Boone explained. "I already gave him the sex talk, I don't want to have to give him the death talk too."

Shannon looked at him. "You gave a five-year-old a sex talk?"

"He was asking if he had a mommy, we had to explain things to him," Boone justified.

"Well, if he goes out and starts getting girls knocked up you've only got yourself to blame," Shannon said with mock seriousness. Boone gave her a look. "Okay, I seriously have to go now," she stated, getting up. Boone followed her movement and they headed for the front door. "I'll see you this afternoon though, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, so long as you don't mind," Boone agreed.

Shannon shook her head. "Totally cool. Sayid's working late anyway."

"Okay, guess I'll see you later then," Boone said.

Shannon nodded. "Be sure to enjoy the rest of your fun packed day," she smiled.

"Get out of my house," Boone said, giving her a friendly shove.

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Later."

"Yeah, bye." 


	6. Chapter 6

Jack stood at the nurse's station, attempting to straighten up some of his charts but not having a whole lot of luck if he was honest. 

"Dr. Shepherd."

He looked up to see one of the medical students from the other night, the girl who was acting like some kind of Oceanic groupie. He looked down again. "Yeah?"

"Hi. My name's Lisa, I'm a student, I met you the other night," she began.

"Yeah, I remember you," Jack said, concentrating on his work.

"You do?" she asked.

Jack looked up at her. "You left an impression."

She gave him a shy smile and Jack looked back down again.

"Yeah, I just kind of wanted to explain that," she said.

"Please don't," Jack requested.

"See when flight 815 went down I was like 15 years old. I'd never been on a plane, never been outside of Iowa in my life. But my mom wanted to take us on a vacation to Anaheim, go to Disney Land, do all that stuff. She booked the tickets and everything even though I said I didn't want to go. I didn't trust planes, I really didn't want to fly. It just doesn't seem natural, you know what I mean?"

Jack gave her an irritated look. "Don't you have some work to do?"

"This'll just take a minute, I swear," she replied.

Jack sighed and tried to get on with his work.

"So anyway, the day before we were due to fly, that's the day the Oceanic flight 815 crashed. Or, disappeared more accurately, I guess. No one knew what had happened to it. Regardless, I so wasn't getting on that plane, I kicked up a huge fuss, my little brother got totally upset over it all and by the end of the day there was no way our parents were gonna even attempt to get us to the airport."

"Is this story going somewhere?" Jack asked.

"So obviously, for two and a half years, no one knew what had happened to flight 815. A couple of months down the line I don't think anyone was even thinking about it anymore. Except that I was, I thought about it all the time. I'm not like one of those conspiracy nuts or anything but I thought it was really strange that they hadn't recovered a single bit of wreckage from the flight. I mean, even if you guys had gone down in the middle of the ocean, you would have expected to get a little wreckage washed up somewhere but they never found anything. And I just, I always wondered, I was always fascinated by the whole thing. And then they found you guys. And you'd been on this island for two and a half years and it was just, it kind of blew my mind. And you, you were in all the newspapers, you were like Super Doc or something. And whenever someone interviewed any of the survivors you were always mentioned. Those guys, it was like they owed it all to you."

"It wasn't like that," Jack dismissed, old memories coming back to him, memories he thought he'd left far behind.

"I was 18 by the time you guys got off the island, when there was all that buzz about everything that had happened there," she explained. "I'd never stopped wondering about that crash but I never really figured you'd all be alive, you'd all be living. And I was reading all this stuff about you and I just thought you were really amazing. To do the things you did in that kind of situation. You're kind of like my hero. You're the reason I went pre-med. You're the reason I'm doing this."

Jack looked at her in disbelief and wondered what the hell he was supposed to say to all that. "You don't even know me," he finally managed. "You don't know anything about what happened. I'm not special. Anyone would have done the same thing in my situation."

"I don't know about that," she replied.

"I am no reason to change your life plan," Jack told her. "That's just crazy."

"Well, before the whole Oceanic thing I didn't really have a life plan," she told him. "So really you totally did me a favour."

Jack just looked at her. He had a hard enough time dealing with people on the island looking at him like he was some saviour, like he was sent to lead them all to safety, he'd never even considered that anyone else would ever think about their time on the island like that. He couldn't even understand where this girl was getting all this from. When they'd gotten back he knew that certain people had talked to the press, Charlie for one had done anything going in an attempt to re-ignite the Driveshaft flame, but Jack had never read any of those articles, he didn't know what anyone had said. Now he was starting to wonder.

"Anyway, I guess I better go," Lisa said after clearly realising that Jack wasn't going to say anything else.

Jack gave her a nod and got another smile in response before she headed off. He shook his head a little and sighed, turning his attention back to his charts.

"Maria's right about you," Alice commented.

Jack looked up at her, only just registering her presence. "What does Maria say about me?"

"She says you take yourself far too seriously," Alice explained.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked.

"I think it means you're a boring stick in the mud," Alice smiled. Jack gave her a look. "It means you could be nice to people every once in a while."

"I'm nice," Jack defended. "I just wish people would concentrate more on their work and less on idle gossip."

Alice nodded. "Lot of people look up to you," she observed. "Wouldn't do you any harm to cut them a little slack every once in a while."

"My father never cut me any slack when he was chief of surgery," Jack stated. "Never did me any harm, look where I am."

"That what it all comes down to?" Alice asked him. "I remember your father, he wasn't the most popular man around."

Jack fixed her with a look. "My father was very well respected in medical circles."

"He was, yes, I'm not saying he wasn't," Alice insisted. "But he wasn't a whole lot of fun to work under, either. You and me both know that."

"He was concentrated on patient care," Jack told her.

"You and him have that in common," Alice observed. "But you're a nice guy, Jack, you can't hide that. You have to see these people everyday, it wouldn't hurt you to get along with them."

"I get along with them fine," Jack dismissed.

"What about Jeremy?" Alice asked. "I know you like Jeremy but I don't think I've heard you say one nice thing to him since he made chief resident."

"That kid needs to get his act together," Jack commented.

"He needs a little self confidence is what he needs," Alice replied. "You could give him that if you really wanted."

"Okay, what is this, lecture Jack day?" he asked. "Why are you getting at me?"

"Because that girl just said some very nice things to you and you just dismissed her," Alice commented. "You could have said thank you."

"The last thing I need right now is a groupie, okay? I do not want to encourage her," Jack said.

"You're not a little honoured that a cute girl like that would have a crush on you?" Alice asked.

Jack gave her a look. "She has a crush on her idea of me," he replied. "That's not who I am. She'll find out."

"You did all that stuff, Jack, whether you want to address it or not," Alice commented. "And there's nothing wrong with being a little bit famous."

"I don't want to be a little bit famous," Jack replied. "I just want to be Jack. I just want to work on my patients, do my job and then go home to my family. That's all I want."

"Simple man," Alice nodded. "Something almost refreshing about that."

"Almost?" Jack asked.

"But I still think you could try being nicer to people," she insisted.

"I'll bear that in mind," Jack replied, turning his attention back to his work once again.

"Remember, Jeremy wants to be just like you, just like you wanted to be like your father when you were in his position," Alice said. "Bear _that_ in mind the next time you talk to him."

"I'm pushing him," Jack said. "The kid needs a push."

"He needs a little reassurance sometimes too," she replied, walking around him. "Wouldn't kill you, would it?" She headed off down the hall.

Jack watched her go. "Might," he mumbled to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Boone sat stretched across the sofa, his legs out in front of him, reading a book. He heard the front door open and close and then Jack walked into the room and headed straight for the sofa. Boone quickly moved his legs out of the way as Jack sat down heavily beside him. Boone looked at him for a second.

"You were just gonna sit on my legs," he said.

Jack turned to face him. "What?"

"You were about to sit on my legs," Boone repeated.

"No I wasn't," Jack dismissed.

Boone shrugged and stretched his legs out again, placing them in Jack's lap. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jack replied. "But I think I hate everyone I work with."

"Really?" Boone asked. "All of them."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"That's gotta suck," Boone commented.

"Yeah," Jack vaguely.

Boone looked at him. "Jack, you don't really hate them."

"They're idiots," Jack stated.

Boone nodded. "Yeah, I'd say you have the same level of maturity as our five-year-old," he commented.

Jack looked at him, clearly not impressed. "Don't you start," he said.

"Are they not bowing down to you? Is that what's wrong?" Boone asked. "You gonna have a sulk?"

"I'm not sulking," Jack dismissed in a rather sulky voice.

"Well you're pouting," Boone pointed out.

"Boone, I'm serious, I do not have the energy for this right now," Jack told him. "Do not try to be cute."

"Jesus, Jack, don't take it out on me," Boone said, rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to his book.

Jack sighed and Boone could tell he was looking at him, even though he refused to turn away from his book.

"I'm sorry," Jack said finally, sounding rather sincere about it and also very tired. Boone raised his eyes from the book and saw Jack looking all forlorn, which he could never really resist. "I had a shitty day, I just..."

"Want to be looked after?" Boone offered.

Jack smiled at him a little. "Something like that."

"First of all, you have to give me a real smile," Boone told him, which earned him a grin and a rather condescending look that he could live with. "And secondly, you have to stop being a shithead."

"Okay, fine, I'll try not to be a shithead," Jack agreed.

"No, don't try, just don't be a shithead," Boone insisted.

Jack smiled at him again. "Okay, no more shithead."

"And I don't just mean to me," Boone told him. "You don't have a license to go being a shithead elsewhere."

Jack rolled his eyes a little. "No shithead license, understood," he said, sounding a little impatient.

Boone looked at him a second. "Okay," he said. He folded his legs up so he was sitting cross-legged on the sofa and then patted his lap. "Legs up, give me your feet."

Jack obeyed and laid across the sofa, placing his feet in Boone's lap. Boone took the sock off one of his feet and began to massage the sole, watching as Jack closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Jack asked.

"Oh, you don't deserve me," Boone told him. "Don't go thinking for a second that you do."

Jack opened his eyes and grinned at him. "I love you."

"I know you do," Boone told him. "Why do you think I'm doing this?"

Jack closed his eyes again, a contented little smile playing on his lips, and Boone watched as his body began to relax into the couch. He finished up one foot and then took the sock off his other foot and started work on that.

"Are you hungry?" Boone asked him.

"Don't stop," Jack mumbled sleepily.

"I'm not stopping," Boone told him. "I'm asking if you're hungry."

"Not really," Jack said.

"Have you eaten anything?" Boone asked.

"Yeah, I had some lunch," Jack replied.

"Have you eaten since lunch?" Boone pressed.

"I'm okay," Jack told him. "I just wanna go to sleep."

"You should eat something, Jack," Boone said.

Jack sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll have a sandwich or something."

"Kitchen's that way," Boone told him.

Jack opened his eyes and gave him a look. "I thought you were looking after me."

Boone looked at him for a second and then sighed. "Fine, come sit with me," he said, tapping Jack's leg as he stood up.

"Really?" Jack asked in a rather pathetic voice. "But those kitchen chairs are hard. Sofa's comfy."

"Yeah, you're definitely worse than Noah," Boone told him.

Jack sighed and gave him an unimpressed looking before getting to his feet. He seated himself at the kitchen table as Boone got to work on his sandwich.

"So, you wanna tell me about this shitty day?" Boone asked him.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "I just feel like everybody wants me to be someone I'm not."

"Who do they want you to be?" Boone asked.

Jack seemed to think about it for a minute. "They just want me to be different."

"Different how?" Boone pressed.

Jack looked thoughtful again as Boone went over and set his sandwich down in front of him, taking a seat. Jack picked it up and took a bite.

"Do you think I'm a good leader?" Jack asked. "Like, on the island, do you think I did okay?"

"Is that what all this is about?" Boone asked. "You having a crisis of confidence."

"Look, I can do it," Jack said. "But do you think I can do it well?"

"I don't think there's anyone more qualified or capable," Boone assured him.

"Do you think I act different?" Jack asked. "When I'm being the leader type. When I'm in charge."

"Well, you have a pretty one-track mind," Boone told him. "When you're being a doctor then you're a doctor but when you're Jack, you're Jack. You're not very good at mixing the two."

"Do you think I take myself too seriously?"

"Where are you getting all this from?" Boone asked.

"Do you?" Jack pressed.

"Yeah, I guess," Boone allowed.

Jack looked at him. "You weren't supposed to say that."

"Oh, I'm sorry, was I supposed to lie?" Boone asked.

"Do you really think that?" Jack asked, looking wounded again.

Boone shrugged a little helplessly. "You take things seriously," he said. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but you're not exactly full of giggles and fun, are you?"

"You think I'm boring?" Jack asked. "Why would you even be with me if you thought I was boring?"

"I don't think you're boring, I never said that," Boone insisted. "I said you were serious, that's something else."

"You're serious," Jack said.

"Yeah, I am," Boone agreed. "But I'm not having a meltdown over it."

Jack looked at him and seemed to consider this for a minute. "This is a good sandwich," he told him.

Boone smiled. "Thanks."

"Do you think I need to be nicer to people?" Jack asked him.

"Like who?"

"You know Alice at work?" Jack began. "Crazy lady."

Boone laughed a little. "Crazy lady?"

"You know her," Jack said. "Nurse. Has something like seven kids and she seems to get confused who they actually are because she treats everyone like they're her kids. Especially me."

"Don't blame her," Boone said. "You're acting like my kid."

Jack gave him a look. "Do you know who I mean?"

Boone nodded. "Yeah, Alice, what about her?"

"She said I should be nicer to people. She says I'm too short with them," Jack explained.

"Thing about you, Jack, you have a real problem with authority," Boone told him. "You're not happy unless you're in charge but then when you are in charge you get annoyed that people ask you stuff. So, if I had to guess, yeah, you could probably be nicer to people at work."

Jack sat back in his chair and looked defeated. "But I don't like them."

"You don't have to like them," Boone told him. "Just get on with them. After a while you'll probably find yourself quite fond of them."

Jack sighed, not looking entirely convinced. "I bet you were a nice boss, weren't you?"

Boone had never really thought about it if he was honest. He was good at making business connections and making people feel comfortable so he guessed he was a nice boss. But he wasn't sure that everyone there looked at him fairly because of the obvious reasons behind his fast track to management so it was hard for him to make any real connections. "I got on with them," he replied. "I don't think we hated each other or anything."

"I don't think they hate me," Jack said. "I think they actually like me."

Boone smiled. "So don't blow it."

Jack nodded. "You're really smart," he told him. "You should put that brain to use."

Boone looked at him, probably a little more hopefully than he'd intended. "Really? You think?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever makes you happy."

Boone nodded. If he could work out what that was he'd be fine.

"It's time for bed now, right?" Jack asked.

Boone looked at him again. "You go, I'm not really tired."

"You're not gonna come?" Jack asked, looking a little disappointed.

"It's not that late," Boone replied. "I think I'm gonna stay up a while."

"Okay," Jack said, getting up. He leaned down and kissed Boone's cheek. "Night."

Boone nodded. "Get some sleep."

Jack gave him once last smile and then left the room. Boone sighed and wondered how he could feel jealous over Jack for having work problems when his biggest problem was that he didn't have any problems. He didn't have a whole lot of anything, he was simply floating. Which some people would probably quite like. Shannon, for example, seemed to thrive on floating. But Boone wasn't a floater, he was a swimmer. He just needed to find the water. 


	8. Chapter 8

Jack hated working nights. Not that it really made that much difference to him, he reasoned. Whatever time of day he finished he always fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow, unable to keep his eyes open if he wanted to. And in some ways this actually worked out better for him. He usually got back when Boone and Noah were having breakfast so he grabbed something to eat with them and then he'd go to bed when Boone took Noah to school and wake up after lunch when he could spend some time with Boone and then go with him to pick up Noah. But none of that really changed the fact that he felt like him and Boone were just passing by each other. He hated sleeping in an empty bed when he knew what the alternative was.

Jack stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed, and watched Boone grab his things across the room.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Jack asked him.

Boone looked up at him. "What?"

"Did you sleep well? Are you well rested?" Jack asked, fighting a losing battle with his eyelids.

"I don't know, I guess so, why?" Boone asked, looking puzzled.

Jack shrugged. "When you get back, if you wanted to slip back into bed for a bit, that'd be cool," he suggested. "If you wanted to snuggle."

Boone laughed a little. "Snuggle?" he asked, quirking a brow.

"Snuggle's a viable word," Jack told him.

Boone nodded. "Okay." He went over to the bed and ran his hand over Jack's buzzcut. "I don't wanna wake you."

Jack shook his head. "You won't wake me."

"Then what's the point?" Boone asked. Jack sighed, he had a point. "I'll see how far into REM you are when I get back."

Jack nodded a little. "Okay."

Boone gave him a smile. "I'll see you later." He leant down and gave Jack a kiss before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

Jack listened to Noah thundering around downstairs and then he heard the front door followed by the car starting up and driving away. He settled down in the bed and found himself drifting off to sleep. He was almost there when the phone rang. He considered ignoring it but he knew it could be the hospital in which case he'd better pick up. He sighed and rolled onto his back, picking up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Mornin' Doc."

Jack found himself cringing a little at the familiar southern drawl but he also found himself quite intrigued. "Sawyer?"

"Yep," Sawyer replied.

Jack was far too tired to try and work this out right now and Sawyer was apparently giving him nothing to go on so Jack found himself sighing.

"Shouldn't you be at work or somethin'?" Sawyer asked.

"I'm on nights," Jack replied. "Why, you hoping for someone else?"

"You mean like your little boyfriend?" Sawyer asked. "Can't say I relish the thought of speakin' with either one of you."

"So why did you call, Sawyer?" Jack asked, his tone a little more irritated than he'd intended.

"Old lady's got me ringin' round, got some news," Sawyer replied.

"Yeah, what's that?" Jack asked.

"We're gettin' married," Sawyer replied, sounding almost unimpressed. "Well, engaged. Whatever you wanna say."

There was a pause as Jack tried to take this in, it wasn't quite what he was expecting somehow. "We're talking about Ana-Lucia here, right?"

"Who the hell else d'ya think we're talkin' about?" Sawyer asked, sounding annoyed and also a little impatient.

"So does this mean you guys are actually gonna admit your an item?" Jack asked, finding himself amused all of a sudden. "Cos, y'know, it's only been, what, nine years?"

"It ain't been nine years," Sawyer replied.

"It's nine years, Sawyer," Jack stated.

"That goddamn crash might've been nine years ago but we ain't been together nine years," Sawyer insisted.

"Fine, okay," Jack said, really lacking the energy for this right now.

"Anyway, we're havin' an engagement party, you can come if you want," Sawyer offered, sounding anything but excited at the prospect.

"Well, with an offer like that, how could I refuse?" Jack replied sarcastically.

"No one's twistin' your arm, Doc," Sawyer pointed out.

"That's an understatement," Jack commented.

There was a silence in which Jack was sure he heard Sawyer sighing at least twice and he started to wonder exactly what the purpose of this call was, Sawyer was acting rather like a kid who was forced to write thank you notes after Christmas.

"You do the whole proposal thing?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, whole shebang," Sawyer replied.

"Down on one knee?" Jack asked.

"Down on one knee," Sawyer affirmed.

Jack found himself smiling. "Doesn't seem like your style."

"I was drunk," Sawyer said.

"But didn't you have a ring?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I had a ring," Sawyer replied.

"So you must have planned it," Jack commented.

"Yeah," Sawyer admitted. "It was her birthday, I didn't know what to get her."

"So you got her an engagement ring?" Jack asked. "Pretty big commitment for a last minute birthday gift."

"I wouldn't have given it to her if I wasn't drunk," Sawyer insisted.

"You're really making a lot of excuses, Sawyer," Jack commented. "Don't you want to marry her?"

Sawyer sighed. "I haven't spoken to Kate in eight months, two weeks and three days."

"That's some pretty accurate time keeping," Jack said.

"I don't know where she is, I don't know how to contact her, I never have," Sawyer went on. "But she used to ring or she'd write. She used to let me know she was doin' okay. But we were talkin' less frequently and now I think she's given up on it all together."

"Sawyer, what does this have to do with..."

"If she said she'd have me, said we could have somethin', anythin', I'd drop Ana in a second," Sawyer said. "Cos I want Kate more. I always have. But Kate didn't want me."

"Do you love Ana?" Jack asked.

"Does it matter?" Sawyer countered.

"Do you love her?" Jack pursued.

"Yeah," Sawyer replied, making it sound like a confession. "Yeah, I do."

"Then it's okay," Jack told him.

"It ain't okay, Jack," Sawyer insisted. "Cos I love her second best. And what's the use in that?"

"You can't have Kate, Sawyer," Jack told him. "What's the use in wasting your life over that?"

"She wants you," Sawyer stated. "Ana."

"Me and Ana never..."

"No, I know you never," Sawyer cut in. "You were too busy bangin' Pretty Boy to ever. But if you said you'd have her she'd drop me like a bad habit. I'm her backup just like she's mine. I don't know if something like that could ever work."

"Is that why you rung me?" Jack asked. "You want my advice?"

"She wants kids," Sawyer stated, changing the subject. "I don't want kids but she really wants kids. Lost a baby once, has all these issues, can't wait to be a mom."

"Why don't you want kids?" Jack asked.

"What in the hell would I do with a kid?" Sawyer asked him like he was a complete idiot.

"Kids love you, Sawyer," Jack told him. "You were the only one who could stop Aaron crying, remember?"

"That don't mean I'd be any use to a kid," Sawyer dismissed. "Bein' a father's about more than that."

"Yeah, it is," Jack agreed.

"Speakin' of which, how's your runt doin'?" Sawyer asked.

"His name's Noah," Jack stated, trying to convey his annoyance.

"Yeah, stupid name that it is, why'd you wanna do that to a kid?" Sawyer asked.

Jack sighed. "He's fine."

"Good."

"Why don't you want kids, Sawyer?" Jack asked. "What are you afraid of?"

"I ain't afraid of nothin', I just don't want 'em," Sawyer insisted.

"I don't believe you," Jack challenged.

"What, you think I got some daddy issues or somethin'?" Sawyer asked.

"Daddy issues?" Jack repeated. "You scared you're gonna end up like him."

"I just said it weren't about him," Sawyer stated, getting angry.

"What did he do to you?" Jack asked.

"He didn't do nothin' to me," Sawyer insisted. "It's what he did to himself and my mom."

"They're dead?" Jack guessed.

"They're dead," Sawyer confirmed.

"You think you'd do that?" Jack asked.

"You think he thought he'd do that?" Sawyer countered.

Jack sighed. "I'm chief of surgery now," he said. "That's my dad's old job. I treat everyone I work with like shit and then I come home and have Boone run around after me and I never get to see my son." He sighed. "I am a bottle of scotch away from becoming my father."

"That scare you?" Sawyer asked.

"It terrifies me," Jack admitted.

"You think you can stop it?" Sawyer asked.

"I think I better try," Jack replied. "What more can I do?"

Sawyer was quiet for a few moments. "I don't think I'm gonna stop wanting Kate," he said finally. "I don't think that's gonna go away."

"You can't have Kate," Jack reminded him.

"Hell, I don't even know if that crazy girl's still alive," Sawyer commented.

"Can you imagine your life without Ana-Lucia?" Jack asked. "Can you imagine going home and not having her there? Can you imagine not seeing her, not knowing where she is?"

"No," Sawyer replied simply.

"Then I think you better buck up, cowboy," Jack told him. He heard Sawyer snort a laugh. "So when's this party?" Jack asked.

"Don't matter now, we're sendin' out invitations, you'll get one," Sawyer replied.

Jack smiled to himself. "So you did phone for my advice."

"Just checkin' out the competition," he drawled, a smirk in his voice.

"No competition," Jack told him. "And Ana should feel the same way."

"Well I'll talk to you later, Doc," Sawyer told him.

"Yeah, you take care," Jack told him. "Of her as well as yourself."

"I thought you weren't interested," Sawyer said.

"I just want to see you go down the aisle, that's gonna be something," Jack told him.

"Anyone tries to make fun of me in a tux and I will punch them," Sawyer warned.

Jack smiled. "I don't doubt that."

"Bye, Doc."

"Bye, Sawyer."

Jack clicked off the phone and hid himself under the covers again, finding sleep suddenly coming back around to get him. He had to kind of despair at the way Sawyer and Ana had gone about their relationship but they seemed to get something from each other that they needed and he was sure they were happy if they'd just let themselves be. He closed his eyes and gave thanks that he and Boone, though they may have their problems here and there, were nowhere near that screwed up. And just before Jack fell asleep he made a mental note to make sure he never took Boone for granted. 


	9. Chapter 9

Boone had washed the dishes, sorted the laundry and straightened up the house, even though it didn't particularly need straightening as it never actually got a chance to get messy anymore, and he was starting to wonder how he was going to pass the next few hours. He sat down on the sofa and surveyed the room from where he sat and found that it was so painfully tidy it actually reminded him of being back at his mother's house when he was a kid. Boone liked things neat and tidy, everything in it's place, but it was starting to look like in a show home and Boone realised he should probably stopping tidying so that it looked like someone actually lived there. He remembered the old expression 'A tidy house is the sign of a wasted life' and really couldn't agree more.

He heard Jack on the stairs and breathed a sigh of relief, thankful to have a little company for a while. Jack entered wearing boxers and a T-shirt and gave him a smile, sitting beside him on the sofa.

Boone gave him a look. "Getting dressed just seem like too much hassle for you?"

"I'm making things easier for you," Jack told him.

"By making less laundry?" Boone guessed. "Cos, y'know, laundry I don't mind all that much right now."

"No," Jack said. "I'm making it easier for you to undress me."

Boone laughed a little. "Slightly presumptuous of you."

Jack shook his head. "Not really," he said. "You're pretty easy in my experience."

"Is that right?" Boone asked.

"Are you happy?" Jack asked, completely out of nowhere it appeared to Boone.

"Happy?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "With your life? With how things are?"

"Where's this coming from?" Boone asked.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "I was talking to Sawyer earlier."

Boone looked at him. "Sawyer?"

"He rang up this morning, he and Ana-Lucia got engaged," Jack explained.

"Really?" Boone asked.

"Apparently so," Jack replied. "But they're pretty screwed up, I'm not sure whether to congratulate them or pity them."

"So what's that got to do with me being happy?" Boone asked.

"I just don't want us to end up like that," Jack said.

"Jack, I think we're a little more together than them," Boone told him.

"Yeah, I know, relationship wise I think we work," Jack agreed. "But are you happy? Because I worry about you."

"Why?" Boone asked.

"Well, because I have my job which takes up far more of my time than I should let it and Noah has his schooling which takes him out of the house," Jack explained.

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little bored," Boone admitted.

Jack nodded. "So you're unhappy."

"I wouldn't say I was unhappy," Boone considered.

"I don't want you to lie to me," Jack told him.

Boone looked at him. "You think I'm lying to you?"

"I don't mean it like that," Jack said. "I just want you to tell me the truth. If you're unhappy I won't take it personally."

"I'm not unhappy," Boone insisted. "I'm just feeling a little... useless."

"Boone, you're not useless," Jack told him.

"Well, not useless, just..." He sighed. "I don't know. I used to have Noah around and we'd do stuff but now I just kind of sit here and do nothing."

"So you thinking about getting a job or something?" Jack asked.

"Maybe," Boone said. "Or something else."

Jack looked at him. "Something else?"

Boone knew he should just take Shannon's advice and tell Jack what he'd been thinking about lately, he was already halfway there, but for some reason he couldn't get the words out. He still wasn't entirely sure if the baby idea was at all sensible so he didn't really want to go planting it in Jack's head as well. "I don't know," Boone managed. "I guess a job, yeah."

"So, is this gonna be like when we first got off the island and you couldn't work out what you wanted to do?" Jack asked.

"I'll work it out," Boone assured him.

"You want some help?" Jack offered. "We could go trawling through job ads again like last time."

"That didn't really get us anywhere, did it, Jack?" Boone pointed out.

"Well I think it's a start," Jack said. "Might give you some ideas."

"Maybe later," Boone said. "Didn't you mention something about sex?"

Jack smiled. "See, I told you you were easy."

"Only for you," Boone told him.

"Guess I should take advantage of that," Jack said.

Boone leaned forward and kissed him, feeling Jack smile against him before kissing him back. Boone snaked his arms around Jack's back and pulled him closer when Jack suddenly pulled away. Boone gave him a questioning look.

"Why do I get the impression this is an avoidance technique?" Jack asked, giving him a look.

Boone cursed internally. "No avoidance technique," he insisted, running his hands under Jack's shirt and then pushing him back on the sofa.

Jack smiled at him. "Well now you're just trying to violate me."

"You love it when I violate you," Boone said, leaning down to him.

"That may be," Jack admitted. "But what is it you don't want to talk about?"

"I don't want to talk about anything right now," Boone told him. "I just wanna do dirty things to you."

"You do this when you have something on your mind you don't want to talk about," Jack stated. "You try to distract me with sex."

"You were the one that brought up the sex," Boone pointed out.

"Yeah, but I thought maybe we could have a conversation first," Jack replied. "I thought maybe we were mature enough to do that."

"We had a conversation," Boone stated. "I'm bored, I'll get a job, I'm fine."

"So you're just bored?" Jack asked. "A job'll take care of it? There's nothing else wrong?"

"I just need something to fill my time," Boone said.

Jack nodded. "I'm just kind of aware of the fact that I had to pull this out of you," he considered. "You didn't exactly volunteer the information. It just makes me worried that you're hiding other things."

"I'm not hiding anything," Boone assured him. "I don't want you to think that about me."

"I don't want to be thinking that about you," Jack commented. "But sometimes we get on different tracks and we seem to lose communication. That hasn't happened in a long time, I don't want it happening now."

Boone looked at him and wondered if what he was doing could be classed as keeping secrets. But he figured he wasn't really keeping secrets because he didn't have any fully formed thoughts about what he wanted to do next to be keeping anything solid from Jack.

"It won't happen," Boone told him. "We're mature, remember?"

Jack smiled at him. "Most of the time."

"So, if I tell you I love you, does it get your pants off any quicker?" Boone asked. "Cos you're already wearing a slutty amount of clothing."

Jack did that cute little giggle that always did good things to Boone and then he pulled Boone down fully on top of him. "You're the slutty one."

Boone smiled at him and then leaned in for another kiss, Jack pulling him in closer and shifting their bodies for maximum contact which made Boone sigh into his mouth and push his body further into Jack's, craving something more. Jack's hands soon starting tugging at his clothes and he was vaguely aware that they should really try and move this upstairs but his body clearly had other ideas as he couldn't stop moving against Jack.

"I love you," Jack whispered into his ear.

"Love you too," Boone told him, moving to kiss his neck.

"I want you too," Jack said.

Boone smiled. "Yeah, I figured," he said, grinding his hips down for emphasis.

"Not like that," Jack stated, attempting to glare at Boone but it didn't work very well because his eyes were filled with lust. "I mean in life. You're what I want. I want you to know that."

"Jack, I know," Boone assured him.

Jack nodded a little. "You're my first choice. You're not a compromise."

Boone stopped moving to give Jack a questioning look and attempt to work out what he was going on about but Jack, probably unconsciously, made his own movements bigger so the effect was pretty much the same.

"Why would you say that?" Boone asked.

Jack's hips stilled but his hands carried on running over Boone's upper body as he looked at him. "I want you to know," he replied, sounding almost lost.

"But you don't need to say stuff like that," Boone told him. "I know that stuff. When you say it, it makes me suspicious."

"Sorry," Jack said. "It was supposed to be a compliment."

"Came out weird," Boone told him.

"Sorry," Jack repeated.

"Stop saying that," Boone requested, leaning back down and giving him a brief kiss. "You're acting majorly weird."

"Sawyer got me thinking about some stuff," Jack explained. "I just wanted you to know how special you are and I don't want to be taking you for granted."

Boone smiled at him. "See, that's what you say," he stated. "That would have been fine."

Jack returned his smile. "Okay, I'll just try that next time."

"Don't worry," Boone said. "I'll make sure you get some practice paying compliments."

He leaned back down and Jack met him halfway, their bodies fusing once again. 


	10. Chapter 10

Jack entered the house and heard the distinct sound of Noah giggling, which was strange because he was sure it must be passed his bedtime by now. He checked his watch. Definitely passed his bedtime. Maybe he was being difficult with Boone and refusing to go to bed like he tended to do from time to time. Jack hoped it wasn't on his account. 

He walked through to the living room see a couple of sheets flung over some furniture in what looked to be a makeshift tent. He heard Noah giggle inside it and then heard Boone laughing too.

"What the hell's going on?" Jack asked.

There was some movement and Boone's head popped out from what Jack assumed was the entrance. "Hey, Jack," he said. "We made a fort."

"Yeah," Jack said, surveying the mess before settling his eyes on Boone again. "He should be in bed."

"Well, yeah, I know," Boone said.

"And if he isn't in bed he should at least be winding down," Jack told him. "You're not gonna get him to sleep for hours."

"He'll go down in a little while," Boone assured him.

"No," Noah shouted from inside the tent. "No sleep."

Jack gave Boone a look. "Noah, I want you out here right now."

"No," Noah repeated.

"Noah," Jack warned.

"No," Noah shouted once again.

"Noah, I want to talk to you, come out here," Jack ordered.

"No," Noah called out.

"Jack, why don't you just come in here?" Boone suggested.

"I am not getting in that thing," Jack replied. "Noah, I am giving you until the count of three."

Boone climbed out of the fort and went over to him. "Jack, will you just calm down?"

"One..."

"Jack..."

"Two..."

"Come on..."

"Three..."

Noah was clearly making no move to leave his little fortress so Jack went over and ripped the sheets away, leaning down and picking Noah up, who screamed and a squirmed the whole time.

"Jack, can you just relax?" Boone requested. "What is the big deal?"

"The big deal is that he's supposed to be in bed, Boone, and he is disobeying me," Jack stated.

Boone gave him an incredulous look. "Can you try not to have a power trip, please? He's five!"

"Put me down!" Noah yelled, thrashing against Jack, the predictable tears welling in his eyes.

"We're supposed to be a team, Boone. You and me," Jack stated. "You're supposed to be on my side, not his."

"Christ, I'm not on anyone's side, Jack, though I do take offence when you make my son cry for no good reason," Boone replied. "Just give him here."

He reached over and took Noah off Jack. Noah wrapped his arms around Boone and cried, rather theatrically, Jack thought, on Boone's shoulder, all the while making sure Jack was still watching him.

"See, you just took his side," Jack side.

"Are you kidding me?" Boone asked, giving him a look while he rubbed soothing circles on Noah's back. He seemed to be waiting for an answer but Jack didn't bother saying anything. Boone sighed. "I'm gonna take him upstairs."

Jack watched as Boone left the room with Noah and then looked around at the mess. He lifted the sheets up half-heartedly in an attempt to tidy up but wound up just tossing them to the side and collapsing onto the sofa. He sighed heavily and put his head back, closing his eyes and massaging his temples with a hand, finding his earlier headache catching up with him again.

Jack let his hand slide down his face and into his lap but he kept his eyes closed, getting the familiar feeling that sleep was going to be evading him tonight. His schedule had been all over the place lately, switching from days to nights and back again, never finished at anything resembling what it said on the rota, he really didn't have the energy for a drama when he came home. But he had to admit that he was pretty responsible for what had just happened. But Boone should know better than to let Noah stay up so late, he was the one that was so obsessed with timetables after all. And Noah was at an age when sleep was important, his concentration would suffer and if he didn't get a full night's worth in he'd be all over the place at school the next day. But Jack figured he probably wasn't going to get much sleep in the state he was in now anyway. Actually, he'd probably cry himself to sleep before too long, the condition he'd managed to work himself into in a very small space of time.

"You're a poopyhead."

Jack opened his eyes and brought his head up to look at Boone who was leaning in the doorway. "Noah's words?"

Boone nodded. "I got some words for you too but they're a tad stronger than that."

"We're supposed to be a united front, Boone," Jack said in his defence.

"You didn't have to do that, Jack," Boone told him. "What was the point of upsetting him like that?"

"Did you get him to calm down?" Jack asked.

Boone nodded and headed over to the couch. "Eventually." He sat down but Jack noticed he was keeping his distance. "He's still teary but he's nearly asleep." Jack nodded. Boone looked at him. "You're not even gonna say you're sorry are you?"

"You shouldn't have kept him up so late," Jack said. "He probably wouldn't have thrown a tantrum if you put him to bed at eight like you were supposed to."

"I think the 'tantrum' was because you destroyed his fort and grabbed him like that," Boone said.

"See, you always have to make me the bad guy," Jack stated. "You can't instil a little discipline, you have to leave it to me and then I wind up being a poopyhead."

"Jesus, Jack, I look after him ninety-five percent of the time, and you're not around to see that, so don't tell me what I do and don't do in regards to my son," Boone warned him. "Maybe if you bothered to come home at a reasonable time..."

"Did he want to stay up and see me?" Jack asked.

"No, I think he's well used to going to sleep without you, Jack," Boone told him.

Jack gave an understanding nod. "So you were keeping him up until I came home because you didn't want to sit around on your own."

Boone didn't answer, he just stared at the floor and clenched his jaw, and it broke Jack's heart a little to look at him. He knew that he flew off the handle with Noah and it really wasn't called for but Boone should have put him to bed ages ago and he really wasn't in the mood to get ganged up on, which inevitably happened when Boone and Noah were together.

"I am sorry," Jack offered.

"That's great, Jack," Boone said sarcastically, still not looking at him. "It's always nice to get an apology that sounds so much like an afterthought."

"I had a bad day," Jack explained.

"Sucks for you," Boone commented. "That's so unbelievably not my problem. And it's certainly not his."

"I know that," Jack said. "I just expect a little support when I come home."

Boone looked at him. "Jack, you can't talk to people like that. You can't just start yelling at him like that, he doesn't even know what he's done. Hell, I don't even know what he's done."

"Look, I get that you're lonely, I get that you're bored, and I'm sure he's great company for you, but he's five-years-old and bedtime means bedtime," Jack told him. "I understand why you did it but you have to understand that it was selfish of you."

Boone looked at him sharply. "_I'm_ selfish?" he asked. "What about you? You don't look out for anyone but yourself."

"I look after everyone in this family," Jack insisted.

"Yeah," Boone agreed. "From a distance."

"See, I knew this was gonna happen," Jack commented.

"Oh, you wanna add all-knowing to your list of godlike skills?" Boone asked.

"Can you just shut up for a minute?" Jack requested. "We need to sort this out, Boone."

"Sort out you being an asshole?" Boone asked. "I've been trying for the past nine years, hasn't gotten me anywhere."

"I love you," Jack said.

Boone looked annoyed. "You can't just say that in the middle of an argument."

"I love you and I'm sorry that your life kind of sucks right now but we talked about it and you said you were doing okay," Jack stated.

Boone looked down again. "That was a whole week ago, Jack."

Jack nodded. "So you're not okay."

"I'm okay," Boone said. "But you're going on about support and maybe I could use a little support every once in a while. You think it's easy dealing with him all the time, having only a five-year-old for company, followed by being by yourself in an empty house for hours at a time? You seem to think that I just sit around and watch TV and play games with Noah while you work your ass off being the big important guy. You're right, my life kind of sucks, and Noah and I were having fun here and time kind of got away from me, all right, I'm sorry."

Jack sighed. He shifted up the couch and put his arm around Boone, happy when he let him pull him closer. He put his hand in Boone's hair and rested his head atop Boone's. "We're gonna have to work something out for you."

"You were completely out of line tonight, Jack," Boone told him.

"I know," Jack said.

"I'm seriously pissed off with you," Boone continued. "And you really upset Noah and that is really not on. You ever do that again, you're not getting away with it."

Jack sighed and nodded. "I guess I'm more highly strung than I thought I was," he said. "I was in the wrong, I know I was."

"You should get some sleep," Boone suggested, pulling away from him.

"You coming?" Jack asked.

"I'm gonna tidy this up," Boone said, looking at the room.

"I'll give you a hand," Jack told him.

Boone shook his head. "I got it. You need some rest."

"It's okay," Jack said. "I don't feel like I could sleep anyway."

Boone sighed. "Just go lay down, Jack."

Jack nodded, taking the hint. "You'll be up in a bit?"

"I don't know," Boone replied.

Jack sighed and went to leave.

"Go see Noah," Boone told him. "And if he's still awake, give the kid a hug and tell him you love him."

"You don't think he'll just call me a poopyhead?" Jack asked.

"He might," Boone shrugged. "You deserve it."

Jack nodded, he couldn't really argue with that. He took a last look at Boone and then headed for the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11

When Boone finally climbed into bed, Jack immediately moved over to him and snuggled up to his side, holding onto him. Boone hesitated for a minute before sighing and putting his arms around Jack. 

"What am I supposed to do with you, huh?" Boone asked.

"I can't lose you," Jack said and Boone could tell that he'd been crying.

He looked down at him and couldn't work out whether to be mad at him or comfort him. "You're not gonna lose me you big goon."

"I can't," Jack repeated.

"Jack, shut up, it's one stupid fight, we'll get over it," Boone told him.

"I'm really sorry," Jack said, angling his face up to look at Boone and displaying his teary eyes. "I screwed up, I screwed everything up."

"You don't deal well with failure, do you?" Boone pointed out.

"I can't do it again," Jack said, burying his face in the side of Boone's neck.

"Do what again?" Boone asked.

"I ruined my whole marriage, it was all my fault," Jack said.

Boone found himself rolling his eyes. "Jack..."

"I always blame it on the baby but I know it's me," Jack went on. "After what happened I should have been there for her but I wasn't, I couldn't be. I needed to fix it but I just didn't have it in me. I let it die. I don't wanna be that person again."

Boone shook his head a little. "You're the most together guy I know but when you fall apart you_ really _fall apart."

"I'm gonna make it up to you," Jack told him.

"Jack, just go to sleep," Boone said.

"I know I've been a jerk lately," Jack stated. "I'm gonna sort it out, things are gonna be better."

"Jack, you're tired, you're emotional, you need some sleep," Boone told him. "If you're still feeling like this in the morning we can talk about it."

"You're gonna be there?" Jack asked.

"I'm gonna be right here," Boone assured him.

"I love you," Jack said. "I need you."

"Go to sleep," Boone ordered.

Jack sighed against his neck and shifted slightly, getting comfortable but still clinging onto Boone's side, as if to make sure he didn't get away.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After breakfast, Noah went to sit on the sofa and watch cartoons. Boone looked at him curled up against the arm of the sofa and sucking his thumb, a habit Boone had worked hard to get him out of.

"He hasn't said two words to me all day," Jack said.

"You haven't said two words to him," Boone countered.

"Yeah, you're right," Jack allowed. "I don't think he really wants me to talk to him though."

"I think he probably does," Boone said, walking into the room and sitting in the armchair, leaving the couch open for Jack.

Jack sighed and walked over to sit next to Noah who looked up at him. "Hey, sport. You okay?"

Noah nodded.

Jack smiled at him and put his hand on his head, stroking his hair. "I'm really sorry I yelled at you yesterday, I shouldn't have done that," he said. He looked at Noah who just looked back at him. "Can I have a hug?"

Boone smiled as Noah leapt into Jack's lap with no hesitation and cuddled up to him. Jack smiled too and wrapped his arms around Noah.

"We friends again?" Jack asked.

"Friends," Noah said, nodding. He held out his little finger to Jack. "Pinky swear."

Jack gave him a bemused look. "What?"

"Pinky swear, Jack," Boone said. "Don't tell me you've never heard of a pinky swear." Jack just looked at him. Boone rolled his eyes. "You have to link pinkys, Jack."

Jack looked back to Noah and linked his pinky with Noah's rather awkwardly, earning him a little grin from Noah. Jack smiled back and pulled him into a hug again, kissing the top of his head.

"I love you, you know that, right?" Jack said. "I didn't mean to get mad at you before."

Noah settled in his lap, still cuddled up to him, and turned his attention back to the cartoons on the TV. Jack looked at his watch.

"I'm really gonna have to go, kid," he said. "And you have to go soon. Have you brushed your teeth?"

"I done them already," Noah said.

"You all ready?" Jack asked. Noah nodded. "Okay then. Well, I gotta go but I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," Noah said.

"All right, give me a kiss," Jack said. Noah pulled himself up and kissed Jack. "Thank you," Jack smiled.

Noah clambered off him and Jack stood up, looking at Boone. Boone gave him a little smile and stood up.

"I'll see you out," he said.

They left Noah with his cartoons and went out to the hall.

"Well, he seems to have forgiven me," Jack said.

"Of course he forgave you," Boone said.

"You forgive me?" Jack asked.

Boone sighed. "You can be a real ass sometimes."

"Yeah, I know," Jack replied.

"But I can't live without you just like you can't live without me so I guess we're stuck with each other," Boone shrugged.

"I think there was a compliment in there somewhere," Jack said.

"There's no one I'd rather be stuck with," Boone told him.

Jack smiled at him. "So can I get a hug from you?"

"You can get a kiss too if you're really lucky," Boone smiled.

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked, taking a step towards him. "So what do I have to do to get lucky?"

"Keep your promises," Boone told him, pulling him into a hug.

"You mean about how I'm gonna change things?" Jack asked, holding Boone tight.

"Yeah," Boone said. "I can deal with your shit ninety-nine percent of the time but you crossed a line and I don't want you to cross it again. We're cool now but I'm guessing there's some reason behind what happened last night and you need to sort that out before it happens again because if it does..."

"I know," Jack said.

"Anything I can help you with?" Boone asked, pulling away slightly so he could look at Jack.

"I think I need to make some changes at work," Jack said. "I think I need to learn how to delegate and trust people."

Boone nodded. "And while you're at it, you could try being nice to them."

Jack gave him a look. "I could try." Boone smiled. "And I guess I have to loosen up a little with Noah. I don't even know if I was mad at him or you or me last night."

"Next time you should try getting in the fort. It's fun," Boone told him.

Jack smiled at him. "I'll bear that in mind," he said. "So, does any of that earn me a kiss?"

Boone pretended to think about it. "Hmm, okay then."

They leaned into each other and their lips met, loving but persistent and Boone could just feel all the issues hidden inside it. The insecurities and fears and love and need and a little residual anger from last night, on Boone's part anyway. But it wasn't like he'd never made a mistake so he wasn't about to hold it over Jack's head. He knew he was sorry and he knew he wanted to make it up and also make sure it never happened again. Jack had always been terrified of repeating his first marriage and Boone couldn't help but feel for him but he did wish it didn't have to get so bad before Jack booked up his ideas and realised maybe he needed to start paying more attention to the things around him.

Boone pulled away gently. "You have to go."

Jack nodded. "Yeah." He gave Boone a brief kiss on the lips and then pulled away fully. He put his jacket on and grabbed his keys, turning back to Boone. "Thanks for giving me another chance."

Boone's breath caught a little. When it was phrased like that, Boone couldn't help but feel like a sucker. He knew that wasn't true and he knew that what Jack did, though undeniably out of line, was also undeniably forgivable. But when Jack stated it like Boone had the option of not forgiving him it made it all seem far greater than it was.

"Just get of here," Boone told him.

Jack gave him a smile and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

Boone gave him a brief smile and watched as he headed out of the door. He stared at the door for a couple of seconds before heading back into the living room and attempting to drag Noah away from the TV.


	12. Chapter 12

Jack exited the elevator and headed for the doctor's lounge as Maria fell in step beside him. She passed him a chart.

"Here," she said. "Mrs. Stein has a question about her husband's surgery."

Jack looked at her. "Who's Mrs. Stein?"

Maria gave him a look. "Arthur Stein's wife," she stated. "Guy who fell off his roof."

"Oh, that idiot," Jack said. "Tell them I'll be right there, I just gotta put my stuff down."

"I'm on my break," Maria said, following him into the doctor's lounge and going over to coffee pot.

"Great, thanks," Jack muttered as he headed over to his locker, taking off his jacket. He turned back around and saw Jeremy sat at the table, fast asleep in his chair, several charts in front of him. Jack sighed. "How long has he been there?"

Maria looked over at Jeremy. "I think he came in here about half an hour ago but I don't how long he's been asleep."

Jack closed his locker and walked over to Jeremy. He leant down and shook his shoulder. "Jeremy, wake up."

Jeremy woke with a start and looked at Jack sleepily. "What?"

"How long have you been on?" Jack asked him.

"Oh, erm..." Jeremy rubbed his eyes and sat up. "I think I'm actually officially back on duty again."

Jack looked at him. "You just worked through all your down time?"

"I guess," Jeremy said. "I don't know, what time is it?"

"Go home," Jack told him, standing up.

"No, I can't, I have stuff to do," Jeremy said, becoming more alert. "I have all these patients and I haven't even started on my paperwork yet."

"Go," Jack told him. "I'll take care of it."

"But, Jack..."

"Are you stupid, kid, get out of here," Maria said softly, taking a seat at the table with her coffee and picking up a newspaper.

The female med student, who kept looking at Jack all doe-eyed, came into the room. "Jeremy?"

"Jeremy's going home, Jeremy's not here, Jeremy doesn't exist," Jack told her.

The med student looked at him. "What?"

"What's wrong..." Jack shook his head. "Sorry, I don't know your name."

"It's Lisa," she said. "I told you that at least twice just yesterday."

"Yeah, you probably did but I very rarely listen to anything anyone says to me," Jack said. "What's up, Lisa?"

"Well, I just wanted a second opinion on this patient, I was gonna ask Jeremy if he could come have a look for me," Lisa explained.

"I'll come have a look in a second," Jack told her.

"Okay, thanks, Dr. Shepherd," she replied.

"What's the date today?" Maria asked, studying the front page of the newspaper.

Jack looked at his watch. "It is the... 22nd." He stopped and looked back at his watch slowly as something clicked. "Oh shit."

Maria looked up at him. "What?"

"It's Boone's birthday tomorrow," Jack explained. "Oh God, I am so dead. I'm already in the bad books, he's never gonna talk to me again."

"It's tomorrow, not today, you still got time," Maria told him.

"Right, you're right," Jack nodded. "I need to find a baby-sitter."

"I can baby-sit for you," Lisa offered.

Jack looked at her. "That's really okay," he said. "No, I'll get my sister-in-law to do it. That means I can take him out. I need to get him a present."

"Mrs. Stein's waiting," Maria said.

"Right, okay," Jack replied. "Jeremy, you're going home. Maria... you're on your break, that's fantastic. Lisa, you come with me, I'll take a look at your patient in a minute." He nodded and then sighed. "Does anyone know a good restaurant?"

"Oh, Shelly's, fantastic, went there on a date last week, to die for, you have to try it," Maria gushed.

"Have you been there?" Lisa asked. "I've been trying to get my boyfriend to take me but he keeps making up excuses."

"It's really good," Maria said. "Made my date bearable which wasn't an easy feat, believe me."

"Shelly's?" Jack asked.

"Oh, wait, but you can't go there tomorrow, you need to make reservations, they won't be able to fit you in," Maria said.

"You should tell them that you're Dr. Jack Shepherd from Oceanic flight 815," Lisa suggested.

"That impresses no one but you, Lisa," Jack told her. "I'll work it out later, come on, let's go."

Jack finally got a chance to sit down in his office around midmorning but he still had no idea what he was going to do the next day. He figured the first step was to convince Shannon to baby-sit.

"Hello?" Shannon answered, sounding irritated.

"Hey, Shannon, it's Jack," he said. "Bad time?"

"My dog's insane is all," Shannon replied. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if Noah could stay over at yours tomorrow night?" Jack asked.

"I was wondering when you were gonna get around to asking me that," Shannon smirked. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"I remembered in time," Jack defended.

Shannon laughed a little. "I knew you'd forget."

"So you didn't think about reminding me?" Jack asked.

"I probably would have done if you hadn't called me by tonight," Shannon replied.

"So it's cool if Noah stays over at yours?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," Shannon replied. "Did you get him a present?"

"Not yet," Jack admitted. "What should I get him?"

"Don't ask me, you live with him," Shannon said. "I'm sure you can work it out."

"I'm the worst gift buyer," Jack said. "Can't you give me a clue?"

"Giving you a clue implies I know the answer," Shannon replied.

"A suggestion then," Jack corrected.

"I suggest you get off your ass and think of something," Shannon said. "Just do something nice, spoil him, make it all about him," she offered. "We both know he's not on the receiving end of that treatment very often."

Jack nodded. "You're right."

"Boone's not big into things anyway, he never has been," Shannon told him. "He likes gestures."

"Well I'm taking him out for a meal," Jack said.

"Where you taking him?" Shannon asked.

"Well, I haven't really gotten that far yet," Jack admitted.

"You're useless, Jack," Shannon told him. "How you won a guy like Boone, I'll never know."

"We were on a desert island, I think that played to my advantage," Jack replied.

Shannon gave a little laugh. "So you gonna drop Noah off or you want me to drop by?"

"I'll bring him round," Jack told her.

"Okay then," Shannon said. "Well I have to go stop my dog from destroying my entire house and I'm guessing you've got lives to save."

"Actually I have paperwork," Jack said.

"Have fun," Shannon chimed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." 


	13. Chapter 13

Boone was getting things out of the fridge for dinner when he felt an arm snake around his waist. He jumped out of his skin and turned around to see Jack smiling at him.

"Jesus, Jack, what the hell are you doing?" he asked, giving him a friendly hit on the arm.

Jack moved around Boone to the counter and put away the things he'd just got out. "You're not cooking tonight."

"What?" Boone asked. "Why are you home so early?"

Jack smiled at him again and put an arm around him, pulling him closer. "Happy birthday."

Boone found himself smiling. He thought Jack had forgotten about his birthday, which he'd actually been a little glad about. He hated birthdays, he hated being the centre of attention, he never liked a fuss made over him. But now that Jack had said those two stupid words he found himself quite excited.

Jack pulled something out of his pocket and placed it in Boone's hand. "Here."

Boone looked at it. It was a Hershey's chocolate kisses bar. He looked back at Jack. "Did you buy my birthday present from a gas station?"

"No," Jack said, sounding a little offended. "I went to Walmart," he added, a little quieter.

"Walmart?" Boone asked. "Jack, Walmart sells everything, all you could come up with was a chocolate bar?"

"I got you some other stuff too," Jack said. "Like candy hearts."

"How old do you think I am?" Boone asked.

"They're romantic," Jack said.

"Yeah, if you're twelve," Boone replied.

"Look, okay, time kind of got away from me and I didn't get a chance to get you a real present," Jack admitted.

"Shannon had to remind you it was my birthday, didn't she?" Boone smirked.

"Hey, I remembered on my own," Jack said.

"When?" Boone asked.

"Well, yesterday," Jack admitted. "I'm gonna take you shopping for a real gift though."

"I don't care, Jack, I don't want a stupid gift," Boone told him.

"Well tough, cos you're getting one," Jack stated. Boone smiled at him. "Where's the kid?"

"He's upstairs," Boone replied.

"Well, he's sleeping at Shannon's tonight so that I can have you all to myself," Jack told him.

"Okay, I like that plan," Boone said, leaning in closer to him.

"But first you should go make yourself more presentable cos I'm taking you out," Jack said.

"You are?" Boone asked, cursing how disappointed that came out.

"You don't wanna go out?" Jack asked.

"Well, I mean... I liked the part where we were alone in the house," Boone said.

"We can't do that all night," Jack stated. "We have to eat."

"We could get a takeout," Boone suggested.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, okay, sounds good."

"You don't mind?" Boone asked.

"That sounds far more attractive than sitting in some restaurant," Jack said. "What do you want to have?"

Boone thought for a second. "Chinese."

"Okay, we'll go take Noah round to Shannon's and then we'll grab some food on the way back and after that I'm sure we could think of something to entertain ourselves with," Jack said, pulling Boone in for a kiss.

"My cow's head came off," Noah announced.

Boone and Jack pulled away from each other and looked at Noah who was standing in the doorway with a damaged plastic cow.

"What happened?" Boone asked.

Noah shrugged. "Just came off."

Boone and Jack exchanged a look.

"Did you pull it?" Boone asked. "Or drop it? Or stand on it?"

"No," Noah said.

"Are you sure?" Boone asked.

"It's broken," Noah stated.

"Yeah, it is," Boone agreed.

"Can you fix it?" Noah asked.

"I don't know, I'll have a look at it later," Boone replied.

"Hey, Noah, come here a sec," Jack requested. Noah ran over as Jack bent down. "How would you like to stay at Aunt Shannon's tonight?"

"No," Noah replied.

"You can play with Snoop," Jack told him.

"Can I?" Noah asked, getting excited.

"You know, if we go real soon, I bet Shannon'll let you take him on a walk too," Jack said.

"Let's go now," Noah said, pulling at Jack's hand.

"Okay, slow down," Jack said, scooping Noah into his arms and picking him up, placing him on his hip. "We have to go pack some things for you first."

"Like what?" Noah asked.

"Like your pyjamas and your toothbrush," Jack said. "Come on, let's go take a look," he said, heading for the stairs.

Jack and Noah were gone so long that Boone was about to go look for them when he heard Noah running down the stairs. He came into the room with his bag in one hand and a card in the other. He held the card up to Boone.

"For you," he said.

Boone smiled at him and leant down to take it off him. "Thank you, Noah," he said and then looked at Jack who was stood in the doorway smiling at him. He gave him a smile back and ripped open the envelope. Inside was a card that said 'Happy Birthday Daddy' on the front and Noah had written his own name inside it in red crayon. Boone gave him a kiss on the cheek and then gave him a hug. "Thank you," he said again.

"Can we go see Snoop now?" Noah asked.

Boone smiled at him. "Yeah, we can go now."

Noah ran out of the room in the direction of the front door. Boone walked up to Jack and gave him a kiss.

"Thank you," he said.

Jack shrugged. "It was from Noah," he said. "I'll give you something later."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Happy birthday," Shannon said, thrusting a present and card into Boone's hands and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Shan," Boone said. He opened up the present and found a book with artistic photographs from tropical locations.

"Kind of makes you homesick, doesn't it?" Shannon commented. "If you can call it 'home'sick."

"Brings back memories," Boone agreed, flicking through the pages. "Thanks." He opened the envelope and inside was what looked to be a handmade card. It was different materials put together to make an island in the middle of the sea. "Wow, this is really nice, where did you get it?"

"Oh, I made it," Shannon told him.

Boone looked at her. "You made this?"

"Yes," Shannon replied. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Because it's gorgeous, Shannon," Boone told her. "The colours and the different layers. This is really beautiful."

"Well, thanks," Shannon said. "I just used stuff from Zara's craft box. We always keep bits of material and stuff like that. I was bored so I figured I'd try something out."

Boone gazed at the card. "It's awesome."

"Come on, you ready to go?" Jack asked.

"Look at this, Jack," Boone said, holding the card up to Jack.

"Will you drop it?" Shannon asked. "It's a stupid card."

"I cannot believe you made this," Boone said.

"Thanks," Shannon replied sarcastically.

"It looks really professional," Boone said. "Are you sure you made it?" he asked, turning it over to look at the back.

"Okay, enough, go be a birthday boy, I'm sure you have some treats to look forward to when you get home," Shannon said, attempting to usher them out.

"Yeah, I have candy hearts," Boone told her.

"What are you? Twelve?" Shannon asked.

"That's what I said," Boone replied.

"We're leaving," Jack announced. "Noah, we're going."

"Bye," Noah said, not moving away from Snoop.

"Don't I get a hug?" Jack asked him.

"I'm hugging Snoop," Noah replied.

"It's nice to know I'm ranked so highly in his mind," Jack commented. "We'll see you tomorrow," he called to Noah.

"Bye, Noah," Boone called.

"Bye," Noah called back with a half-hearted wave.

"You need to get that kid a pet," Shannon told them.

"Yeah, now we're really leaving," Boone said, heading for the door and pulling Jack with him.

"Have a nice evening, guys," Shannon called after them with a smile. 


	14. Chapter 14

Jack watched impatiently as Boone picked at the last bits of food on his plate with his chopsticks, apparently making no effort to finish the meal anytime soon. Boone looked up at him.

"What?"

Jack shook his head. "Nothing."

Boone smirked. "Yeah, you want me," he said, turning his attention back to his food.

"Well I always want you," Jack agreed.

"Nympho," Boone muttered, picking up another scrap from his plate.

"Are you done with that yet?" Jack asked.

"Hey, it's my birthday, we get to do what I want," Boone said.

"Yeah, absolutely," Jack said. "I just thought you might want to do something a little more fun that sit here."

"Yeah?" Boone asked. "What did you have in mind?"

Jack gave him a look. "I'm not going down that road so you can make fun of me again."

"But it's my birthday," Boone said, putting on his best pout.

"Yeah, and I'll do anything you want, so just pick something," Jack said.

"I want you to tell me what you want to do," Boone replied.

"I want to do what you want to do," Jack countered.

Boone rolled his eyes and put his plate down on the coffee table, turning to face Jack. "Come here, then."

They leaned into each other and kissed. Boone didn't seem in any particular hurry which Jack was okay with, they had all night to themselves. But then Boone pulled away and looked at him.

"What?" Jack asked.

"I really love you," Boone said.

"Yeah, I know that," Jack said, wondering where he was going with this. "And I love you too."

"Yeah," Boone said, sounding a little distracted. "But sometimes you're like this big loser."

Jack looked at him. "Are we in a fight?" he asked. "I thought we were okay."

"No, yeah, we are," Boone told him. "But sometimes you're a big loser."

"Okay," Jack said, really hoping Boone was going somewhere with this.

"And I know you're all big and important at work," Boone continued. "Do you have, like, a name badge by the way?"

Jack looked at him. "What?"

"A name badge," Boone repeated. "That says 'chief of surgery' on it."

"Erm, no," Jack replied. "Well, I have my hospital ID. But I have it stitched onto my lab coat."

"Right, yeah, of course," Boone said. "You know, if you wore that home you'd get all kinds of lucky."

Jack smiled at him. "That right?" Boone shrugged. "In that case I just might do that. I'll bring my desk plaque too."

"You gonna put it next to the bed?" Boone asked.

"You know anytime you wanna come visit me at work you can," Jack said. "Have you seen my office? I have a sofa."

Boone laughed. "You'd never have sex with me in your office."

"No?" Jack asked. "Come by sometime and call my bluff."

Boone shook his head. "I know you, you wouldn't."

"Were you going somewhere with all of this?" Jack asked.

"Oh, right, yeah," Boone said. "I was just gonna say that you're very impressive at work and all that but you have to be impressive when you come home too."

Jack looked at him. "I'm not impressive?"

"Okay, maybe I don't mean that the way it came out," Boone said. "It's just that your work's always come first to you and you know that. But sometimes we have to come first. And I honestly don't care about the whole birthday thing, I'm so not into birthdays, and I don't want a present, there's nothing I really need or anything, but the fact that you got me chocolate, it kind of highlights what an idiot you are. Just after you highlighted what an idiot you are the other day. And it's not like a huge deal or anything, not at the moment, but you have to bear in mind that we kind of like to see you too and sometimes it would be nice if you could step out of that doctor frame of mind and think 'I'd actually quite like to see my family'."

"I think that all the time," Jack said.

"But you don't do it," Boone pointed out. Jack was about to say something but Boone cut him off. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to come out like a lecture but I just wanted to say it. And I know it's not the kind of job where you can just go as soon as your shift finishes, I know it's not like you can just clock out and come home. I'm just saying, it'd be nice every once in a while."

"I'm just a big huge disappointment, aren't I?" Jack said.

Boone rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, it's not like I didn't see it coming," he stated. "It's always been like this, even on the island. You're all about duty, Jack, which I totally respect. It's just an observation, okay? If I was any less patient you'd probably be out by now."

Jack nodded, he didn't doubt that, it's not like it hadn't happened before. In fact, if Jack was honest, he could put the break-up of every one of his relationships down to his 'sense of duty'.

"No, stop it," Boone said.

Jack looked at him. "What?"

"No brooding," Boone told him. "It's my birthday, you're not allowed to brood. Even if you do look kinda sexy when you brood."

Jack smiled at him. "Okay, no brooding." He leant in towards Boone again.

"Do you think we should get Noah a pet?" Boone asked.

Jack leaned back against the sofa and gave him a look. "Do you want to have sex with me?"

"It's a legitimate question," Boone said.

Jack sighed. "You know, if it was my birthday you'd be all kinds of naked by now."

Boone smiled at him. "The naked's coming up real soon, I promise," he said. "I just, I worry we're being mean to him for no good reason."

"Do you want to walk a dog however many times a day?" Jack asked.

"Okay, not a dog," Boone said. "But we could get him something small."

"Like a hamster?" Jack suggested.

"Yeah, hamster, they're small and cuddly, right?"

"I guess," Jack replied. "So you wanna buy him a hamster?"

"I was never allowed pets when I was a kid," Boone said. "And I never cared either cos I didn't really want one but I know that rule upset Shannon."

Jack nodded. "We can get him a hamster."

"Yeah, we should do that," Boone said.

"You realise you're gonna have to clean it out," Jack said.

"Nah, I'm just gonna sweet talk you into doing it," Boone replied with a smile.

"That right?" Jack asked.

"Uh-huh," Boone said.

"Okay, you know what, I don't care if it's your birthday, I'm totally gonna take advantage of you now," Jack told him.

Boone smiled again. "You say that like I'd object."

"Well you're not making it easy for me tonight," Jack pointed out.

"I don't get to spend time alone with you all that much," Boone said. "Not just the two of us with you actually being in a good mood. We don't talk as much as we used to."

"We can talk," Jack said.

Boone shook his head. "No, I'm done, I want you to take your pants off now."

Jack smiled at him. "You're not gonna give me a hand with that?"

Boone leaned in and pulled Jack into a kiss, one of his hands going to the back of Jack's neck and the other going to his hip, pulling him closer whilst laying them both down on the sofa at the same time, moving their bodies together. 


	15. Chapter 15

"Boone." 

Boone made a sleepy noise of acknowledgement but refused to open his eyes.

"Boone," Jack said again. "Alarm's gone off."

"I heard it," Boone grumbled.

"Alarm means you have to get up," Jack told him.

"No, alarm means_ you _have to get up," Boone corrected. "Noah's not here, I can stay in bed all day if I want."

"But you always get up with me," Jack said.

"Yeah, because I have to get Noah ready," Boone replied. "I'm fairly sure you can tie your own shoelaces."

"But you make the coffee," Jack complained, nudging him.

Boone swatted him off. "It's my birthday, leave me alone."

"It is not your birthday, yesterday was your birthday," Jack pointed out.

"Yeah, but I didn't get a lie in on my actual birthday so I'm making up for it," Boone told him.

Jack sighed and climbed out of bed. Boone smiled to himself and shifted over to the spot that Jack had just vacated, snuggling in the warmth.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Basking in your hotness," Boone replied.

Jack laughed a little. "I'm going in the shower," he said.

"Have fun," Boone told him.

Boone heard the shower starting up in the next room and started to drift back off to sleep with some pretty nice mental images. He stirred a little when Jack came back into the room and started getting dressed. Then Jack came and sat on the edge of the bed and played with Boone's hair.

"I'm not getting up," Boone told him, keeping his eyes closed and concentrating on Jack's fingertips.

"I know," Jack replied. "I'm not working tomorrow."

Boone opened his eyes. "You're not."

Jack shook his head. "You still wanna get that kid a hamster?"

Boone smiled at him and shrugged a little. "I want him to be happy."

Jack nodded. "I want him to be happy too."

"And a hamster's pretty low maintenance, right?" Boone asked.

"I guess," Jack replied. "I never had a hamster or anything."

"No, me neither," Boone said.

Jack smiled at him. "You're gonna look it up on the Internet today, aren't you?"

"Got nothing better to do with my time," Boone replied.

"Well then instead of looking up small mammals on Google, why don't you look up some jobs," Jack suggested.

"Yeah, I could do," Boone agreed reluctantly. If he could work out exactly what it was he wanted to do he could look it up in an instant but unfortunately he was having a problem with the first part of the equation.

Jack sighed. "I want you to be happy too," he said. "Can I get you a hamster or something?"

Boone smiled at him. "No, I'm good on the small mammal front, I think."

"Okay," Jack said. "Well, you ever actually_ want _something feel free to let me know, I'll be more than happy to help you out with that."

"I know," Boone told him.

Jack nodded and gave him a little smile. "Well, I gotta go eat, all on my own apparently, so I'll leave you to your lie in." He leaned down and gave Boone a kiss. "I'll come see you before I go."

"Okay," Boone said. "I might be asleep."

"Of course you'll be asleep," Jack said, getting up. "But that's my favourite time to look at you, you don't talk back."

Boone gave him a look as Jack smiled at him and exited the room.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Boone watched Noah looking at all the animals in the pet store and couldn't help but smile. He felt kind of mean that he and Jack had disallowed Noah from having a pet for so long. He knew it was something his mother would do and he'd promised himself very early on that he was never going to do something his mother would do. Not that she did everything wrong, just most things. But she wasn't really malicious, well, not with him anyway, she was just completely and utterly clueless, not to mention lacking in any kind of maternal instincts.

"I just thought of something," Jack said.

"I told you to try not to do that," Boone replied.

Jack gave him a look. "Noah breaks everything."

"Yeah," Boone agreed, wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, you don't think he'd get, kind of, overzealous with the petting and, you know, squish his hamster, do you?" Jack asked.

Boone looked at him. "He wouldn't squish his hamster," he dismissed. He looked over at Noah. "Would he?"

"No, he probably wouldn't," Jack agreed. "Maybe we should watch him though."

"Yeah," Boone nodded.

They moved over to where Noah was peering through the glass at all the hamsters, looking them all over carefully.

"I want a boy," he told them. "I don't like girls."

"Okay," Jack said. "Well, those ones there are all boys."

Noah looked them over, chewing on his bottom lip. "I want that one," he said finally, pointing at a brown hamster with a white stripe across it's back.

"Yeah?" Jack asked. "You sure?"

Noah nodded. "I'm gonna call him Pete."

Boone looked at him. "Pete?" Noah nodded. "You don't want to call him Fluffy or Cuddles or Hammy or something?"

"Pete," Noah insisted.

"Okay, Pete it is," Boone agreed, exchanging a look with Jack.

"I'll go tell the guy," Jack said, moving over to the counter.

Boone leant down to Noah. "He's cute."

"Can I carry him home?" Noah asked.

"No, I think we should put him in the little carry case and you can play with him when we get home," Boone suggested.

"I can put him in my pocket," Noah said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Noah," Boone said. "He might jump out or something."

"He won't jump out," Noah told him. "He likes me."

"I'm sure he does," Boone agreed. "But it's probably safer if we just put him in the carry case and then when we get home we can take him out and play with him, okay?"

Noah nodded a little and looked back at the hamsters.

"So you like hamsters, right?" Boone asked. "They're cool."

Noah nodded. "I like Pete."

Boone smiled at his son's choice of name. "Yeah," he said. "I think you made a good choice."

"He can be my friend," Noah said.

Boone looked at him. "You get lonely?" he asked. "When you're at home do you ever want someone else to play with?"

"I can play with Pete," Noah said, still looking at the hamsters.

"Yeah," Boone agreed, but he found himself wondering if Noah hated being an only child just as much as he had. No, Noah didn't hate it. Maybe he got lonely sometimes but Boone spent enough time with him that he couldn't really have a huge hole in his life like Boone had when he was a kid. But then being with adults all the time could be kind of boring for kids. Adults seemed stuffy and uptight to kids, or, at least, the adults that Boone knew always did. But he figured he was just starting to project his own childhood onto Noah now. Noah was okay. And Boone knew he was a hell of a lot more fun than Sabrina ever was.

"Can we take Pete round to show Zara?" Noah asked.

"Maybe we should invite Zara around to our house to come see Pete," Boone suggested.

"Zara hasn't got a hamster," Noah said.

Boone smiled at him. "No."

"I like my hamster," Noah said. "Thank you."

Boone smiled at him again and put his arm around him. "You're welcome."

"I want to play with him," Noah said.

"When we get home," Boone told him.

Noah nodded. "Okay."

As Jack came back with the store assistant, Boone observed Noah carefully watching over as 'Pete' was taken out of the cage with the other hamsters and put into his little carry case, keeping a close eye on him at all times, and he couldn't help but smile. Okay, so things always broke around Noah, and that apparently wasn't his fault, but Boone could tell by the look on his face that he was really going to look after his new pet. And it would probably teach him a little more responsibility too, Boone thought, which could only be a good thing. Boone was glad that he and Jack had finally decided to do this, the look on Noah's face was more than reward enough for all the cleaning out Boone knew he was going to end up doing.


	16. Chapter 16

Pete was running around the room in his little hamster ball and Noah was running around after him. Jack couldn't help but smile, Noah really seemed to be enjoying his new pet. Jack looked at his watch. Then he looked at Boone who was sat beside him, reading the newspaper.

"Look, I hate to be that annoying, nagging guy that everyone hates," Jack began.

"Oh, you have another state?" Boone asked, not looking up from the paper. "You hide that side well."

"Well there's no need for name calling," Jack said.

Boone gave him a look. "I didn't call you any names."

"You're being a smart mouth," Jack stated. "We're lucky he's an only child, years of bantering with Shannon did you no good."

"Hey, don't say that," Boone argued, looking annoyed. "I'm glad I wasn't an only child."

"Never did me any harm," Jack said.

"No, you're perfectly well adjusted," Boone stated sarcastically, looking back at the newspaper.

"Did I hit a nerve or something?" Jack asked.

Boone looked at him. "You were gonna say it's getting near Noah's bedtime, I know it is. Why don't you go get him ready?"

"Are you mad at me?" Jack asked. "Because seriously I did not do a thing that time, and you keep throwing these things at me out of left field."

"I'm fine," Boone dismissed. "Sorry, you're right, years of sibling name calling."

"You sure?" Jack pressed.

Boone smiled at him. "I like that I have a little sister," he said. "Don't dismiss my sibling bond, okay?"

"Okay," Jack said. "But usually you're the first to rag on her."

"That's because I love her, so I'm allowed," Boone stated.

Jack nodded, he couldn't really argue with that. "Fair enough, I'm sorry."

"He's going to miss his bedtime if you don't hurry up," Boone teased.

Jack smiled and nodded before turning his attention to Noah who was still following Pete around the room. "Hey, Noah, I think it's time we put Pete back in his cage, okay?"

"But he's having fun," Noah insisted.

"I know, I'm sure he is, but it's getting late," Jack told him. "Come on, let's go put him away."

Jack stood up and went over to him. Noah tried pouting a little but Jack gave him a look so Noah picked up the hamster ball carefully and Jack followed him upstairs and into his bedroom. He opened the hamster ball and gently took Pete out, placing him back in his cage while Jack stayed close by just in case, but he had to admit that Noah was really good with the hamster.

"Okay, come on, time to go wash up and get ready for bed," Jack said.

"I'm hungry," Noah said.

"Noah, don't start with me, please," Jack said. "It's time to get ready for bed now."

"Will you read me a story?" Noah asked.

"Yes, of course I will," Jack told him.

"A long one?"

"We'll see."

"Will you read me two?"

"Well, the sooner you get ready, the more time I'll have to read to you," Jack told him.

"Okay," Noah said, heading out of the room.

"Use soap," Jack called after him. "You want a hand?"

"No," Noah called back.

Jack got Noah's pyjamas ready and then sat down on the bed. Noah was becoming more independent, especially since starting school, and even though it was nice to see the change in him and it was nice to have real conversations with him, Jack couldn't help but feel like he was losing a little bit of Noah, like he wasn't quite so needed anymore. But it was a fair trade off and he knew that he was going to have a lot more years of Noah leaning on him and Boone before he really had to start worrying about it.

Noah came back through and changed into his pyjamas before picking out a book for Jack to read to him. He snuggled up in bed, pulling the covers around him like he always did, and Jack sat down beside him and read to him.

When he got back downstairs, Jack found Boone still sat reading the newspaper. He sat down beside him and just looked at him, admiring the cute look on his face that he always had when he was concentrating on something.

"You know it's very hard to read when you're staring at me like that," Boone said, not looking away from the paper.

Jack smiled a little. "Sorry," he said, looking away.

After a beat Boone put the paper down and turned to Jack. "What?"

Jack looked at him. "I didn't say anything."

"No, but you were thinking something," Boone said.

Jack shrugged a little. "I was thinking you looked cute."

Boone looked at him. "That's what you were thinking?"

"Yeah," Jack replied simply. "Were you hoping for something more profound?"

Boone gave a half shrug. "Noah go down okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Jack replied. "He's a really good kid, isn't he? I'm not saying he doesn't have his moments but they're pretty few and far between. We're lucky."

"We're not lucky, we raised him right," Boone said.

"You saying bad parents never have good kids and vice versa?" Jack asked. "I think we both know that's not true."

"You dissing my parents or yours?" Boone asked.

"I don't know, neither," Jack replied. "But I think good parenting's only half the battle."

"The old nature versus nurture argument," Boone nodded. "You have a professional opinion on that?"

"I think at the end of the day it's probably a combination but I do think nurture only goes so far," Jack said.

"Yeah, so how did we get onto philosophy for beginners?" Boone asked.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "I told you you were cute and you dodged."

"I didn't dodge," Boone said.

"You need to learn to take a compliment," Jack told him.

"Maybe I'm not used to it," Boone countered.

"Yeah, that's probably true," Jack agreed. "I'm getting better though, right? I'm here more, and I don't just mean in the physical sense."

"You're not all that here right now," Boone said. "You're talking a bunch of random crap."

"Well, yeah, but I am talking to you," Jack said.

"Baby steps?" Boone asked.

"No," Jack replied. "Well, maybe a little. I've never been great at relationships."

"I've been in one with you for nine years, I know," Boone told him.

"Longest relationship I've ever had," Jack offered.

"Well then I guess I must be doing something right."

"The thing you're 'doing right' is that you haven't walked out on me yet," Jack said. "And some would argue that's not so smart of you."

Boone looked thoughtful. "You're such a perfectionist control freak that you'd actually stay in a relationship that was making you unhappy just so you didn't have to admit defeat."

"Boone, I'm not unhappy," Jack told him.

"Okay, I'm not saying you are," Boone stated. "But you'd do it, right? I mean, you've done it before, right?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah, I've done it before."

Boone nodded. "I think you might be more screwed up than I am."

"I'm not unhappy," Jack insisted.

"I know," Boone said. "I can tell cos you're not throwing a hissy fit like a little girl."

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "So long as you can tell."

Boone smiled at him. "I can tell."

"I miss a lot of stuff, don't I?" Jack said.

Boone looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," Jack replied. "I just, I'm not perceptive like you. I'm not around as much as I should be and when I am I guess it takes me longer to work stuff out."

"Are you going somewhere with this or are you just talking a bunch of random crap again?" Boone asked.

"I think I'm talking a bunch of random crap again," Jack replied.

"You should really keep an eye on that," Boone told him.

"I'll try and keep it in check," Jack nodded.

"Good," Boone said. "So you wanna lay down, get all entangled and watch TV?"

Jack smiled at him. "That sounds pretty perfect right about now." 


	17. Chapter 17

Boone exited the hospital elevator on Jack's floor and headed for the nurse's station where he found Maria. She looked up and smiled at him. 

"Hey, Boone," she greeted before turning to a girl behind the desk. "Lisa, this is Boone, come meet him."

Lisa looked up and moved towards them. "What?"

"This is Boone," Maria repeated. "As in Jack's Boone."

Lisa looked at him. "Oh my God, I thought you looked familiar."

Boone looked between the two of them, clearly missing something. "Why do I look familiar?"

"You were on Oceanic flight 815, right?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, Jack's mentioned you," Boone said.

Lisa looked excited. "Really? He talks about me?"

"Calm down, sweetie," Maria advised.

"Yeah, look, is he here?" Boone asked.

"He's around," Maria replied. She put her arm around Boone's shoulder and turned back to Lisa. "Isn't he gorgeous though? I mean I know he's not your doctor and all. Hey, I'm having an idea. We should split them up and keep the pieces for ourselves. You in?"

"You know I'm standing right here," Boone said.

"I have a boyfriend," Lisa replied.

Maria rolled her eyes. "Come on, play along."

"Believe me, if I gave you Jack, you'd be giving him back within a week anyway," Boone said. "He's surprisingly high maintenance. Performing complex spinal surgery, fine, but for some reason he can't grasp the concept of separating lights and darks before putting a wash on."

Lisa smiled. "He's not very domesticated?"

Boone shrugged. "He does okay I guess," he replied. "So do you know where he is?"

"I think he's up at radiology," Maria replied. "He'll be back soon."

"Didn't a plane fall on you or something?" Lisa asked.

Boone looked at her. "Erm, kind of."

"And Jack saved you, right?" Lisa continued.

Boone nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"That must have been awesome," she said dreamily.

"Yeah, I guess," Boone replied.

"He's off the market, keep your hands to yourself," Jack said, coming up behind them.

Maria removed her arm from Boone's shoulders and smiled at Jack. "You don't feel like sharing just a little?"

Jack gave her a look. "Go do some work."

"I'm a nurse, you're not my boss," Maria replied.

Jack turned to Lisa. "You work for me, right?"

"Erm, yeah," she replied.

"Then you go do some work," Jack requested.

"Okay, Dr. Shepherd," she said, picking up her charts and heading away.

"See, why doesn't anyone else listen to me like that?" Jack asked.

"Cos no one else is in _lurve _with you," Maria teased.

"I am," Boone said, raising his hand.

Jack smiled at him. "Okay, then you come with me." They began to walk down the hall. "What were you guys talking about?"

Boone shrugged. "Not much," he replied. "That Lisa girl seems sweet. You should be nicer to her."

"I'm nice to her," Jack insisted.

"I bet you could be nicer," Boone told him. "She thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread."

"You like that I have a twenty something med student doting on me?" Jack asked.

"I think it's sweet," Boone said. "And you hate her so you're not exactly going to go running off with her, are you?"

"I don't hate her," Jack argued. "You're right, she's sweet. She's also overbearing and her image of me is a lot to live up to."

"You could try," Boone suggested.

"Yeah, I'll work on that," Jack said, leading Boone into his office.

Boone looked around and went over to the desk. "Cool desk plaque," he appraised.

Jack smiled at him and then locked the door.

"Why do you have a lock on your door?" Boone asked.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "Keeps the med students out. And the residents. And the nurses, nurses are very interfering creatures."

Boone smiled at him. "Okay then," he said. "Well you don't need to lock it, I didn't come here for that. I was running some errands and figured I'd come by and see if you wanted to have lunch."

"Yeah, no, we're gonna have sex," Jack told him. Boone gave him a look. "Don't look at me like that, you're the one who's a corrupting influence on me."

"I'm a corrupting influence on you?" Boone asked incredulously.

"Yep," Jack replied. "I was an innocent little spinal surgeon before I met you."

"Sure you were," Boone said.

"It's true," Jack insisted. "Then you came along, being all young and carefree."

"I don't think I was ever young and carefree, Jack," Boone told him.

"Well, you were young," Jack said.

"Yeah, I was young," Boone admitted.

Jack smiled. "And totally hot," he added, moving towards him.

"It's not gonna work," Boone told him.

"You saw the desk plaque, right?" Jack said.

Boone gave him a look. "You wanna go to lunch or not?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah, okay," he said, sliding his arms around Boone's waist and pulling him close. "You're repressed, I get it."

"It's not working," Boone said. Jack rested his head on Boone's shoulder. "What's with you, anyway?"

Jack shrugged. "My job's stressful and sometimes I'm not in the mood to be serious about everything."

"That mood doesn't strike you often so I guess I should capitalise on it," Boone said.

Jack looked at him. "Am I really as annoying as you make me out to be?"

Boone smiled and shook his head. "I rag on you cos I love you."

Jack nodded. "Okay," he said. "We can just make out a little though, right?"

Boone rolled his eyes. "You are unbelievable."

"I'm just asking you to kiss me," Jack said. "You like kissing me, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Boone said.

"You know, you said that I wouldn't do it when really you meant that you wouldn't do it so you didn't want me to bring it up," Jack said.

"I'm sorry, hospitals don't exactly get me in the mood," Boone said. "And I'm hungry."

Jack laughed a little against his neck and Boone felt it tickle.

"Fine, let's go eat," Jack said. "Cos you can't do that later."

"It's you I'm worried about," Boone told him. "You probably wouldn't even take a lunch break if I wasn't here."

"I would have done," Jack said. "Maybe." Boone gave him a look. "You should come by here more often."

"I don't want to get in the way of your work," Boone said.

"You wouldn't," Jack told him.

"No, you're really focused right about now," Boone replied.

"I'm on my lunch break, I can do whatever or whoever I want," Jack stated. "So long as I keep my pager on, admittedly."

Boone smiled at him. "When you get home you can count on it."

"But we have to wait for Noah to go to sleep," Jack complained. "That's eight hours away."

"When did you turn into such a sex fiend?" Boone asked him. "When did this happen?"

"You know you were the one who brought up the doctor kink," Jack reminded him.

"It's not a kink," Boone dismissed.

"Sure," Jack said. "Anyway, you're my priority, you and Noah, and right now Noah's not here so it's all you."

"Doesn't mean you have to do me in your office," Boone said.

"No, but it would be fun," Jack said, leaning in and kissing Boone briefly on the lips.

"Okay, here's the deal, I'm gonna kiss you and then we're going to lunch," Boone told him. "The rest can wait 'til tonight."

Jack smiled at him. "I guess I could take that as a compromise."

"Good, cos it's all your getting," Boone said.

Jack smiled and leaned back in, kissing Boone softly but deeply and Boone could feel himself buckling already. Actually he could feel himself buckling from the moment Jack locked the door. Well, no, if he was honest the idea had popped into his head before he even got to the hospital. But that didn't mean he was going to act on it. It was unprofessional. Well, for Jack at least. And the doctor thing might be sexy but the hospital thing definitely wasn't. Boone had never liked hospitals and he didn't think even Jack could change that. But he was starting to come around to the idea.


	18. Chapter 18

Jack sifted through the post as he sat at the kitchen table.

"Can I take Pete to school tomorrow?" Noah asked.

"Noah, you can't take a hamster to school," Jack told him.

"He'll be lonely," Noah complained.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him," Boone said. "He'll be fine."

Noah pouted a little but carried on eating his breakfast.

"Hey, look at this," Jack said. "Sawyer and Ana-Lucia's engagement party."

He handed the invitation over to Boone who looked it over.

"Did he just print this off at the copy place?" Boone asked. "It sucks."

"You don't wanna go?" Jack asked.

"Of course I wanna go," Boone replied. "Sawyer and Ana-Lucia actually acting like they like each other? It'll be hilarious."

Jack smiled. "Yeah, I don't think any of us have ever had the pleasure of that before." Noah started tapping his spoon against the side of his bowl. "Noah, please don't do that," Jack requested.

"You gonna book it off work then?" Boone asked.

"Yeah, I'll sort it out today," Jack replied. He looked over at Noah who was still tapping his spoon. "Noah, stop it."

Noah pouted again but stopped tapping as he turned his attention back to the food that was actually in the bowl.

"Anyway, I should probably be heading off," Jack said. "Isn't Shannon coming around this morning?"

"Any minute now," Boone replied. "But she's probably running on Shannon-time, so who knows?"

"Well I'm running on pacific time and I have to get to work," Jack said, standing up. Boone smiled and followed him out to the hall. "I might be late tonight. I have a meeting and it's probably gonna run over."

"Okay," Boone said. "Just try to remember that you have a family."

Jack gave him a look. "I always remember."

Boone gave him a look in return. "Right."

Jack leaned into him. "You keep smart mouthing me and I'm gonna stop talking to you."

"How would I notice?" Boone asked.

Jack rolled his eyes. "I give up."

There was a knock at the door. Boone moved over to open it to reveal Shannon, Zara and Snoop.

"Morning," Shannon greeted as she came into the house.

"Hey," Boone said. "Zara, Noah's in the kitchen, why don't you go through?"

"Okay," Zara said, taking Snoop with her as she went.

"Heading out to work?" Shannon asked Jack.

"'Fraid so," Jack nodded. He heard Noah starting to tap his spoon again and he could feel himself getting wound up. "Noah, stop tapping and just eat it," he called.

"I'm finished," Noah replied.

"Then put the spoon down," Jack told him. "God," he muttered.

Shannon laughed a little. "Christ, you can't even handle one kid, what would you be like with two?"

Jack looked at her. "Two?"

"Yeah, if you had another kid," Shannon explained.

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked.

Shannon turned to Boone, giving him an unimpressed look. "You're an idiot."

"Just stop talking and leave the room, Shannon," Boone responded.

Jack shook his head. "Don't stop talking, Shannon."

Shannon kept her focus on Boone. "You said you were gonna talk to him about it."

"I'm not entirely convinced I said that," Boone replied. "I probably said something that made it sound like that's what I meant."

"Okay, hold up, I seem to be missing something here," Jack said. He turned to Boone. "You want to have another kid?"

"I didn't say that," Boone insisted.

"Yes you did," Shannon cut in.

"I said I was thinking about it," Boone argued.

Jack put his hand up to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "We seem to have a slight communication problem here."

"Yeah, you can totally leave the room now, Shannon," Boone told her.

"Fine, but I'm gonna listen from the kitchen," she told them as she headed down the hall.

Jack turned to face Boone who was looking rather like a guilty schoolboy.

"You're gonna be late," Boone told him.

"Shut up," Jack said. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Look, it's not even like it's a big deal, it was just something I was thinking about," Boone defended.

"Having another kid is a big deal," Jack told him.

"Well, yeah, it is," Boone agreed. "But I wasn't at that stage, I was just thinking about it."

"And you don't think it's perhaps a decision that I should be involved in?" Jack asked. "I'm always trying to get out of you what it is that you want, why do you have to make it so difficult?"

Boone sighed as he thought out an answer. "You think we're done, don't you?"

Jack looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Okay," Boone said as he started to tick things off on his fingers. "You got the house, you got the job, you got the relationship, you got the kid, you're set. And you look at all that and you think it's complete, you think that's it now."

"I think we got a few more years to go, yet, Boone," Jack told him.

"Well, yeah, but this is what you want now, everything's fallen into place for you."

"And it hasn't for you."

"I feel like I'm seventeen again and I'm choosing between colleges or something. I don't know what my purpose is."

"So you want to have another kid to give you a purpose for a while?" Jack asked.

"No," Boone replied, sounding annoyed. "It was just one of the options, okay? Something that crossed my mind."

"Babies are a whole lot of work," Jack stated. "You sure you want to start from scratch again?"

"I didn't think you'd want one."

"I never said that, Boone," Jack insisted. "I'm just playing devil's advocate."

"Look, it's impractical, I know, and they get in the way, and you're always stressed from work, this is why I didn't bother."

"Wait, I never said any of that stuff."

"You're gonna be late for work," Boone said.

"Stop saying that."

"You are."

"I don't care," Jack insisted, forcing Boone to look at him. "Christ, every time I think we're okay you throw some curve ball at me."

Boone shrugged helplessly "I miss being everything to him," he said. "I was there every single day from the day he was born and my entire life revolved around him. And now he's at school and he's growing up and he doesn't even need me half the time and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with myself."

"You're still everything to him," Jack told him. "That's not gonna go away."

"Still, he doesn't need me," Boone said.

Jack found himself smiling a little at Boone's words as things started to become clear. Boone was bored and in his boredom he'd convinced himself that he wasn't needed anymore and Jack knew that Boone needed to be needed, possibly more than anything else.

"He needs you," Jack insisted. "And I need you. Actually, far more than you'll ever know, I'm turning into quite the co-dependent freak lately."

Boone laughed a little and shook his head. "Right."

"If you want another kid, we can have one," Jack told him. "You know me, I love kids."

Boone smiled and shrugged. "I was just thinking about it. For now."

Jack nodded. "Let me know how that goes."

"Will do."

Jack gave him a tired smile and pulled him into a hug. "You make me despair, you really do," he muttered into Boone's ear. He pulled away slightly to look at him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Jack," Boone told him and he looked like he meant it enough for Jack to give him the benefit of the doubt. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Okay," Jack said. "I'm gonna go then."

"Okay."

"But next time you start thinking about something, especially something as big as this, you have to damn well tell me."

Boone smiled a little. "Yes, Jack."

"Good," Jack said. "We can talk about this some more when I get home, okay?"

"Sure," Boone replied.

"Okay, and now I'm really late," Jack stated, looking at his watch.

"Well, I told you," Boone responded.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said. He gave Boone a brief but heartfelt kiss. "I love you."

Boone smiled at him. "Love you too." 


	19. Chapter 19

"You're so pathetic." 

Boone turned around to glare at Shannon. "Could you please contemplate minding your own business, just for once?"

"I figured you'd have brought it up with him by now," Shannon defended. "Christ, it's ages ago that you spoke to me about it."

"You shouldn't make assumptions, Shannon," Boone told her.

"Well at least he said he was up for it," Shannon said.

"You were listening?" Boone asked.

"I told you I would," Shannon replied. Boone gave her a look. "Oh come on, don't be mad at me just cos you're an idiot."

"Well you're not exactly being supportive," Boone told her.

"Right, cos you never rag on me," Shannon said, rolling her eyes. "Just chill the hell out, Boone."

"Aren't you bored?" Boone asked.

Shannon shrugged. "Sometimes. I just find something to occupy myself with."

"Like what?"

"God, I don't know, watch some TV or do some housework or read a magazine, do some shopping, give myself a manicure, or get someone else to give me a manicure, just whatever."

"Isn't that all a little... shallow?" Boone asked.

Shannon shrugged. "I'm not out to win the Nobel Prize or anything."

"But isn't it kind of unfulfilling?"

"Boone, we're talking about your life, not mine," Shannon said. "I'm okay with how things are for me, you're clearly not."

"I have a lot going for me," Boone said.

"Not if you're unhappy," Shannon countered.

"I'm not unhappy, I'm discontent," Boone stated.

"What's the difference?" Shannon asked.

"Being unhappy means being sad but being discontent is just not being satisfied," Boone explained.

"You're such a_ thesaurus_," Shannon said, like it was some vile insult. "And surely if you're not satisfied, you're not happy."

"I like what I've got, I'm happy with what I've got," Boone insisted. "I just want a little more."

"Like a certain orphan boy named Oliver," Shannon commented.

Boone gave her a look. "If you're not going to take me seriously then I'm not going to talk to you," he said, walking past her and heading into the living room.

Shannon followed after him and sat herself down on the sofa. "You're far too sensitive for your own good, you know that?"

"At least I don't cry at every opportunity I get," Boone said.

"I don't cry," Shannon said.

"I'm talking about Jack," Boone told her.

"Oh," Shannon nodded. "Does he still do that?"

Boone shrugged. "Sometimes."

"So, Mr. Carlyle, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?" Shannon asked.

"That's the big question, isn't it?" Boone replied. He sighed and paced the room, his eyes falling on the card that Shannon made for him. He picked it up off the mantelpiece and sat down on the coffee table, looking at the little island surrounded by blue sea. "I do get homesick sometimes," he admitted.

"For that place?" Shannon asked.

"I never had to question stuff there," Boone explained. "It was life stripped down to it's bare roots. It was simple."

"It was a living hell," Shannon said.

"Well, yeah, that too," Boone agreed. "But I had a purpose there. I was like chief hunter."

"Or understudy to chief hunter," Shannon commented.

"Do you have to?" Boone asked, giving her a look.

"All right, fine, I get your point," Shannon said. "But you're not there now so you can't play at hunter gatherer anymore. Pick something else?."

"'Pick something else'?" Boone asked. "You're acting like this is some multiple choice quiz in a woman's magazine. This is my life, Shannon."

"Yeah, and you're gonna have to start making some decisions soon and stop moping around like an idiot expecting everyone else to make them for you," Shannon told him. "You're always moaning about Jack's bullshit, what about your bullshit?"

Boone sighed and looked at the card again. "This is really nice."

"Thanks."

"It is," Boone said. "It's really nice. People would pay a lot of money for stuff like this."

"Great, maybe I'll start selling them," Shannon replied, sounding more than a little irritated. "Can we stick to the point here?"

"You should," Boone said suddenly.

Shannon looked at him, clearly lost. "I should what?"

"Sell them," Boone said.

"Boone, I was joking," Shannon replied, giving him a look.

"No, no, I'm serious," Boone insisted. He looked back at the card. "There's a market for stuff like this. The personal touch for people who simply don't have time for it. And it's individual. Hand made so no two cards would ever look exactly the same, you'd always get variations. And you can do anything, you can cater to whatever people want, give them a choice of designs, work from an idea they have."

"What the hell are you going on about?" Shannon asked.

Boone looked back at Shannon. "We could do it together."

"Do what together?"

Boone sighed. "Are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

"I'm listening but you're not making a whole bunch of sense."

"We could do this, we could sell them," Boone said.

Shannon just looked at him. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Shannon, I can run a business," Boone insisted.

"Great, go run one, don't go dragging me into your crazy schemes," Shannon told him, looking disinterested.

"I need you, you make the cards," Boone told her.

"It wasn't exactly difficult," Shannon said.

"Don't you want to do something a little more interesting with your day?" he asked.

"Not really," she replied.

"Liar."

"Shut up."

"Come on, Shannon," Boone pleaded. "You could have money to buy pretty things."

"I have money to buy pretty things," Shannon said.

"You could have more," Boone baited.

"You just came up with the idea this second, how can you be so into it?" she asked.

"Because it's perfect," Boone said. "It's creative, which I haven't had a chance to be in years, not really since I finished the house. And then there's the business side of things, I'm great at the business side of things. And I know I hated my old job but that was because it was some soulless corporation where no one really believed in me. This would be different, this would be some little small scale thing, I could build it up from the ground."

"So why do you need me for any of that?" Shannon asked. "You just told me you can do the creative stuff, you don't need me."

"I don't need you," Boone admitted. "But you'll do it anyway."

Shannon rolled her eyes and gave him a look.

"You're totally cracking under the pressure," Boone teased.

"Am not," she all but pouted.

"Come on, say you'll do it," Boone pleaded. "I'll do all the hard stuff, all you have to do is play with craft materials all day."

"But you're a slave driver of a boss," Shannon complained.

"How would you know?" Boone asked.

"You expect a lot from people, Boone."

"You can make your own hours," Boone told her.

"Are you an idiot? I'd never come in."

"Okay, so we'll come up with something together," Boone suggested. "We'll start out at thirty hours a week."

"Thirty hours?" Shannon asked. "That sounds like a lot."

"Oh, come on. Based on a five day week that's six hours a day, that's hardly me being a slave driver."

"Six hours?" Shannon asked, clearly outraged. "No way."

Boone sighed. "Right, you've never worked a day in your life. Fine, twenty-five."

"Twenty-four," Shannon said.

"Why twenty-four?"

"I want an extra hour off on Fridays," she replied.

"Fine."

"And I want an hour lunch," she continued.

"You want an hour lunch on a five hour shift?" Boone asked her.

"Yeah, I do," Shannon replied.

Boone shook his head. "You're unbelievable," she said. "You know you don't even need office hours, all you have to do is make some cards."

"Some what about money?" Shannon asked.

"Profit share," Boone said.

"50/50?"

"60/40."

"I assume I'm getting the forty there," she said, sounding unimpressed.

"I'm the one doing all the hard stuff, remember?"

"You won't have any hard stuff to do unless I make you cards."

"I can make my own damn cards," he said, getting up and putting the card on the mantelpiece.

"60/40, five hours a day except Fridays when I only do four hours and you're not allowed to call me at home about work crap," Shannon said.

Boone turned back to face her. "You have to be serious about this, Shannon."

"I'm serious," she told him.

Boone nodded. "Okay then."

He walked over and offered his hand out to her. She shook it and Boone found himself smiling.


	20. Chapter 20

Jack stood at the nurse's station, staring into space, trying to get his thoughts together but not having much luck.

"What are you sulking about now?" Maria asked as she walked up to him.

Jack shook his head a little and straightened himself up. "I'm not sulking." He turned his attention back to the chart in front of him.

"You look like you're sulking to me," Maria commented.

Jack looked up at her. "Do you want something?"

"Yeah, to know why you're sulking," Maria replied.

Jack threw her an irritated look and sighed, turning away again.

"Come on, what's wrong?" Maria prompted.

"Nothing," Jack said shortly.

"Come on," Maria coaxed. "If you don't tell me I'm gonna go get Alice and she'll school your ass again. She's got a whole load of lectures stored up for you, believe me."

"I think I've heard most of them now," Jack said wearily.

"Not even close," Maria told him. "Like the other day she was having this huge moan about you."

Jack looked up at her. "Why?"

Maria shrugged. "She thinks you don't have enough respect. And that you expect things to fall into your lap."

"I do not expect things to fall into my lap," Jack insisted, getting wound up.

"Well, you're sulking now because something isn't going your way," Maria stated.

"That's not why I'm sulking," Jack said.

Maria sighed. "Okay, so why are you sulking?" she asked, putting on her best resigned voice.

"I'm not even sulking," Jack told her. "And that's not going to work."

Maria rolled her eyes and leaned against the counter. "Spoilsport."

Jack turned his attention back to his chart when he realised that he really would like to talk about it. And then he realised that he really had no one to talk about it with. "I don't think I have any friends," he stated.

Maria looked at him. "That's why you're sulking?"

"No, I just realised that now," Jack said.

"I'm sure you have friends, Jack," Maria told him.

"I guess," he replied. "But I'm not that close to anyone anymore. Just Boone. And when I want to talk about Boone I can't go to Boone."

"Ooh, talk to me about Boone," Maria said.

Jack gave her a look. "You're not allowed to mention how hot he is."

"Okay but we're both agreed he's really hot, right?" Maria said. Jack threw her an unimpressed look. "That's really starting to piss you off, isn't it?"

"Little bit, yeah."

"Sorry."

Jack gave her a brief smile before sighing again. "This morning I told Boone we could have another kid but I'm not even sure if I want another kid. I mean, I know having kids was my idea and I always wanted a family but... I don't know, I'm not in the same place I was five years ago, I'm not the same person I was five years ago, so much has changed. And I love Noah more than anything in the world and I am so happy to have him but right now having another seems like a hell of a chore."

Maria nodded. "A kid's a big deal if you're not sure."

"Tell me about it," Jack commented. "But he wants one and I just want him to be happy cos I don't think he's happy."

"Is making yourself miserable going to make him happy?" Maria asked.

"I wouldn't be miserable," Jack said. "I just don't think my heart would be in it and you can't have a kid unless your heart's in it. You shouldn't."

"You're right," Maria said. "So if you don't want to have one you should probably mention it to Boone before he goes out and gets someone knocked up."

Jack gave her a look. Maria smiled sweetly at him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

When Jack got home he found Noah watching cartoons on his own. He walked into the living room and Noah saw him and got up, running over.

"Hi, Jack."

Jack smiled and leant down to pick Noah up. "Hey, there. Where's Boone?"

"He's in the kitchen. He's on his computer," Noah replied.

Jack nodded. "How long have you been watching TV?" Noah shrugged. "How many cartoons have you watched?" Noah shrugged. Jack sighed. "Okay, why don't you go play upstairs for a while?"

"Why?" Noah asked.

"Because you can't watch TV all day, it's bad for your eyes," Jack told him. "I'll come up and see you in a little while, I just want to talk to Boone a minute, okay?"

"Okay," Noah said.

Jack put him down and watched as he headed for the stairs before he switched off the TV. He went through to the kitchen where Boone was sat at the table, typing away on his laptop.

"You trying to turn him into a couch potato?" Jack asked.

Boone glanced up at him. "Oh, you're home."

"Yeah, I'm home," Jack agreed. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Boone replied distractedly.

Jack sat down at the kitchen table with him and wondered exactly how he was supposed to start. "Did you have a good day?" he asked. "With Shannon and the kids."

Boone nodded a little. "Yeah. Fun."

Jack nodded. "Wasn't a bit much to handle?"

Boone shrugged. "It was fine."

Jack nodded again. "Be different if it was a baby though."

"If what was a baby?" Boone asked, not looking away from whatever he was reading on the screen.

"Boone, are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

"Not really," Boone admitted, still not taking his focus away from the screen.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, moving to look at the screen but not making much sense of anything.

"I'm sourcing materials," Boone replied matter-of-factly.

"For what?"

"Shannon and I are going into business together," Boone explained simply.

Jack looked at him. "What?"

"Uh-huh."

"No, not 'uh-huh', what are you talking about, when did this happen?"

Boone didn't answer him. Jack got annoyed and grabbed his hands before shifting the laptop out of the way.

"We're having that communication problem again here," Jack said, gesturing between the two of them. "Please start the conversation again but from the beginning this time."

"Okay, remember that card that Shannon made me for my birthday?" Boone began.

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, we were talking this morning and we realised that there's really a market for stuff like that, home-made greetings cards. So we agreed to give it a go, we're starting up our own business. Shannon's in charge of craft stuff and I'm taking care of the business aspect."

Jack looked at him. "See, this is what I'm talking about, you hit me with stuff from left field."

"You don't want me to do it?" Boone asked, looking confused.

"I think you should go for it," Jack told him. "I just really didn't see it coming."

"Yeah, I didn't really see it coming either," Boone admitted. "Still, I think it's a cool idea, I think there's definitely potential."

Jack nodded and couldn't help but smile on the look on Boone's face, all excited but clearly still having his business head on, thinking about the books.

"I'm glad you thought of something to make you happy," he told him.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Boone asked suddenly.

"What?"

"You said you had to talk to me about something," Boone reminded him.

"Oh, right," Jack said. "Well, I'm not sure it's particularly relevant anymore, but, well, I've been thinking about this plan to have another kid and I'm not sure that it's the best idea."

A smirk came over Boone's face. "I knew you didn't want another kid."

"Look, if you'd have asked me a couple of years back I would have been all for two, three, four kids. But now's just... not great."

Boone nodded. "Yeah, I know. I don't think I even want another kid anyway."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "You don't?"

"Well, I wasn't overly sold on the having one before we had him," Boone said. "I'm totally sold on him now, by the way."

Jack smiled at him. "I hope so."

"I don't know, I'm not that into kids. I think one is probably enough for me."

Jack nodded. "Agreed." He sighed. "Do you know what hell you put me through today, worrying about telling you this?"

"Sorry."

"You can make it up to me," Jack told him.

Boone leaned in closer. "And how would I do that?"

"Later," Jack told him. "Tell me about this business."

Boone smiled at him and reached for the laptop. "Okay." 


	21. Chapter 21

Boone sat down at the table and watched as Shannon kept picking up bits of craft material before looking disinterested and putting them down again. She then looked at Boone. 

"Okay, so what are doing?"

"We need to make a portfolio," Boone explained.

"We don't even have a name yet," Shannon pointed out.

"I'm aware of that," Boone said. "I think a little product would help too though."

"I think we should call it 'Shannon's cards'," she announced.

"I don't think so, Shan."

"We could make it a combination of our names," she offered. "Like Shanboone or Booshan." Boone gave her a weary look. "Ooh, Shoone."

"You suck at this, you're not deciding the name," Boone told her.

"Shoone was totally smart," she argued.

"Can we just make some cards, please?" Boone requested. "Once we've got something to sell, then we can worry about selling it."

"Fine," Shannon sighed, picking up some bits of card. "So what am I supposed to make?"

"Cards," Boone pointed out, giving her a despairing look.

"Well I know that, doofus," she replied. "What am I supposed to put on them?"

"I don't know, anything you want," Boone told her. "Use your imagination."

Shannon sighed again, before rooting through the supplies on the table. She laid a few things out in front of her before stopping and looking at them. "I hate having a job."

Boone gave her a look. "You keep this up, you won't be having one much longer."

"Whatever," Shannon said, sounding bored. "And I think Shoone's a totally smart name."

"Do you practice being annoying?" Boone asked. "Seriously, Sayid must be a saint." He shook his head. "And Shoone sounds too much like 'shroom, makes us sound like psychedelic hippies or something."

"You're such a loser," Shannon told him, focusing on the things in front of her again. "And I bet I can make better cards than you?"

Boone looked at Shannon and remembered just how competitive she could be. "I'm more creative than you, I decorated my whole house."

"Ooh, you can work out a colour scheme, that just makes you gay," Shannon dismissed. "And Sabrina's son of course."

"Please, she got interior designers to do everything for her, she never once engaged her brain," Boone stated.

"You got a point there," Shannon agreed, her attention now firmly on what she was doing. "Did you get the invitation to Sawyer's party?"

Boone nodded. "Yeah."

"Can you believe they're getting married?" Shannon said, shaking her head a little.

"I just can't believe it took them so long," Boone replied.

"I wonder who's gonna be there," Shannon mused. "You think Claire and Charlie will come over?"

"I don't know, maybe. Didn't Charlie just finish his tour?"

"Yeah, I think so," Shannon agreed. "Locke lives out there now, too, doesn't he?"

Boone nodded. "Got a letter from him a couple of weeks back."

Shannon looked up at him. "You did?" Boone nodded again. "Did Jack go psycho?"

Boone gave her a look. "No."

"He still hates him," Shannon stated, more than a little teasing hidden in her tone.

"He's over that," Boone dismissed.

"Right," Shannon said, rolling her eyes. "And Ana-Lucia's my bestest friend."

Boone gave her a look and concentrated on what he was doing.

"She actually_ is _Jack's bestest friend though, isn't she?" Shannon continued.

"They haven't spoken in years," Boone said. "And quit trying to get a rise out of me."

"You think if he wasn't with you..."

"I don't think about that at all, thanks, Shannon," Boone cut in.

"I'm just saying, he met her first," Shannon pointed out.

"Do you wanna get fired on your first day?" Boone asked, giving her a warning look.

"How come you get to be the boss, anyway?" Shannon asked.

"Because you have no experience, no work ethic, and the maturity of a kiwi fruit," Boone told her.

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Mommy's boy," she muttered.

"Daddy's girl," Boone shot back.

They continued in silence for a beat, working on their cards, before Shannon looked up at him.

"Do you ever think about what would have happened to us if we _didn't _crash?"

Boone looked at her. "I try not to," he admitted. "I don't think we were heading for happy endings."

Shannon nodded. "We were both pretty self-destructive," she said. "Well, I was self-destructive and I was taking you down with me."

Boone smiled at her. "I think I was pretty self-destructive too, Shan."

"I don't think you had a self to destruct," Shannon commented.

"Maybe you're right," Boone agreed.

"I bet you'd be married by now though," Shannon said. "I bet you'd have settled down with someone. What do you think she'd be like?"

Boone thought about it. "It'd be someone Sabrina loved," he began. "She'd be from the country club or something. She wouldn't work but she'd organise charity events, mainly as an excuse to have Martinis with her friends. She'd look great on my arm but the sex would be boring."

Shannon laughed. "Why would the sex be boring?"

"Because I don't love her," Boone explained simply. "That and she'd be repressed and refuse to do anything that might be considered slightly risqué."

"Jack's not repressed?" Shannon asked.

Boone smiled to himself. "Not anymore." He looked at Shannon. "What do you think you'd be up to now?"

"Oh, I'd probably still be running around the globe somewhere, making men fall in love with me," Shannon replied.

"Sounds about right," Boone nodded. "You don't think you'd ever settle down?"

Shannon shrugged. "Not for real," she replied. "I never had a relationship where there wasn't something in it for me."

"Shannon, no one has a relationship where there's _nothing _in it for them," Boone pointed out.

"What about you and your trophy wife?" Shannon countered.

"Yeah but I'm an idiot," Boone replied.

"Seconded," Shannon agreed. "And anyway, you know what I mean. I was only out for what I could get, I don't see how that would have changed without the island."

"You had a lot of potential, I think you would have discovered that," Boone told her.

"Please, you were just in love with me," Shannon responded.

"That too," Boone agreed.

"Okay, let's do Jack, what do you think he'd be doing?" Shannon asked.

Boone smiled. "I think he'd be chief of surgery."

"He_ is _chief of surgery," Shannon pointed out.

"Exactly," Boone replied. "Some people just have a path."

"You think he'd have a trophy wife?" Shannon asked.

"I don't see Jack taking a trophy wife somehow," Boone replied.

"You think he'd be with someone?" Shannon rephrased.

"I don't know, he's kind of a loner," Boone considered. "If something happened then I bet he'd fall hard but he'd have to stop working for five minutes first."

"Unless it was another patient," Shannon offered.

"Unless it was another patient," Boone agreed, noting that thinking about Sarah didn't make him quite so inadequate and insecure anymore, like he was second. "So what about Sayid?" he asked.

Shannon looked down. "He told me once why he was going to LA."

"Yeah?" Boone asked. Shannon nodded. "So why was he going?"

"He was looking for his childhood sweetheart, they'd been separated for years," Shannon replied. "Someone had told him where to find her." She looked up at Boone. "So I guess we can figure out what he'd be up to."

Boone gave a little smile but found himself surprised by how sad Shannon looked at the story, he'd never thought she'd be worried about competing with another woman.

"You know, those childhood sweetheart relationships rarely work out in the long run," Boone told her. "I bet they'd be divorced by now."

Shannon smiled. "You think?"

"Absolutely," Boone replied. "And I bet she'd take him for any penny he had."

Shannon nodded. "Good."

Boone laughed a little and shook his head.

"Okay, so, I'm done," she announced, holding up her card. There was a dragonfly made with bits of coloured card and sequins along with a dotted trail of glitter behind it.

"That's really nice, Shan," Boone told her.

"Thank you," Shannon said proudly as she put the card back down. "Let's see yours then."

Boone held up his card, a set of balloons mounted on layered bits of paper with tissue paper streamers in the background. Shannon smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, we'll be millionaires by the end of the year," she said.

Boone laughed. "I don't know about that."

"We're good at this," Shannon insisted.

"Well if we want to be millionaires I think we need a few more than two cards," Boone told her.

"And a name," Shannon reminded him.

"Yeah, and a name," Boone agreed.

Shannon smiled at him and picked up another piece of card.


End file.
